As the oil and gas industry ventures into ultra deep waters, floating production systems are becoming an increasingly important field development option. Careful review of safety considerations and cost-efficient design, fabrication and operation of floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) installations are critically linked to the success of deepwater opportunities. Recognizing this industry need, ABS has developed a suite of Guides that bring technical clarity to the efficient development and use of floating production systems worldwide.

The new Guides, he continues, incorporate proven technology and the most up-to-date industry standards to assist the offshore industry in quantifying site-specific needs, while creating an avenue for evaluating new technology solutions.
The Guides for Facilities and Floating Production Installations also are introducing “risk-based alternatives” as an option to the traditional prescriptive Rules. This latitude gives the industry improved access to risk-based design and increased flexibility for deepwater applications. Alternatives to the Rules may be supported using industry-accepted risk assessment techniques, says Todd Grove, director of Offshore Project Development.

The Guide for Floating Production Installations—the first such Guide to match hull design with field performance—will delineate the design criteria necessary for a site-specific vessel from the requirements for tankers classed for unrestricted service. The Guide also represents improved design criteria for vessels operating in environments where expected loads are more extreme than for trading tankers, thus enhancing vessel safety. It also incorporates ABS’ SafeHull software technology for separating and analyzing static and dynamic load effects, which allows operators to tailor an FPSO hull structure to the environmental conditions expected at an operating site.

More information: published in MarineTalk.com">Susan V. Gonzalez, ABS Americas, 1-281-877-5853