Inside this issue

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An in-depth review of Wood Group’s FPSO experience

A clear focus on HSE best practices

Wood Group ethics policy, a must for maintaining integrity

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Global contributions to education advance local communities

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A world of expertise: An in-depth review of Wood Group's FPSO experience

According to Offshore magazine's Worldwide Survey of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Units, FPSO vessels are becoming more prevalent as oil and gas producers look to exploit reserves in deeper water and more remote locations. Wood News looks at our success as a world-leading FPSO specialist.

"It's a bold statement, but I believe Wood Group could potentially have broader FPSO experience than any other company," claims Bill Cochrane, director, field operations development.

It's his role to develop business in field services for the Group and he believes the FPSO is becoming a significant production option for many offshore exploration and production companies.

FPSO projects could encompass an array of services including topsides engineering design; operations and maintenance services; and full duty holder responsibilities, where a third party is accountable for the safe operation of the vessel. In one way or another Wood Group has been involved in nearly 60-percent (70 of the 120) of the FPSOs currently operating around the world.

Major oil companies may view FPSOs as a packaged operation and tend to lease the vessels rather than buy. By doing this, the oil companies look to service partners that understand the technology and with whom they can develop long-term relationships to achieve their operational goals.

The trend for FPSOs has grown rapidly since the early 1990s. According to ODS-Petrodata, there were only 10 FPSOs in operation in 1990; by 2012 it estimates there could be 200.

Why such a huge increase? Unlike other installations, FPSOs are believed to increase in value. They are moveable, which decreases commissioning costs, suitable for smaller reservoirs and 64 percent of them are conversions (Offshore magazine's Worldwide Survey of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Units, August 2008 issue of Offshore magazine). Furthermore, some companies believe an FPSO is worth more after five to 10 years working on a field because it becomes a proven unit.

Installed Production Floaters
(includes scheduled deliveries thru 2009)

Growth in Floating Production System chart is courtesy of the International Maritime Associates, Inc. Washington, DC (www.imastudios.com). Wood Group is a leader in floating production units including spars, tension leg platforms (TLPs) semi-submersibles and FPSOs.

While an advocate of many forms of technology, and a leader in other floating production units (spars, tension leg platforms and semi-submersibles), Wood Group sees a major advantage in having such a broad range of FPSO experience. The Group's global reach and broad range of engineering and production expertise are well-suited for the operations and maintenance and topsides engineering design of FPSOs. It hopes to support clients interested in using a service company that offers unsurpassed engineering and operations capabilities for the vessels.

Alan Hogg, who oversees the provision of operational and maintenance technical documentation, management systems and training for FPSOs and other platforms, has teams that have provided services for approximately 30 FPSOs worldwide.

"One of the key elements in our success has been the type of people we use," said Alan. "Many companies provide technical documentation, but we don't employ standard authors/ technical writers – only experienced, industry people – ex offshore installation managers, production superintendants, maintenance managers, master mariners and chief engineers. As a result, seldom do we start from a blank piece of paper. As FPSO projects tend to be fast tracked, it allows us to deliver projects quickly."

Although the majority of FPSOs Wood Group has supported are located offshore Africa, Brazil and Europe, other regions will become big markets for FPSOs as oil companies move away from shallow waters. "We predict a significant amount of growth for the FPSO market, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico and Asia Pacific in the next few years," said Alan.

Wood Group provides complete commissioning solutions including project management, certification and handover to clients as well as functional testing services for all facility systems following the construction of platforms up to first oil. Wood Group provided commissioning support for Shell's Bonga FPSO located offshore Nigeria. The giant field covers an area of 60 square kilometers in the Gulf of Guinea and has the capacity of 225,000 BOPD. "We verified the commissioning of the systems to ensure compliance with engineering design criteria. We then dynamically tested those systems to ensure they worked as designed before first oil," explained Paul Dutton, business development manager.

FPSOs produce more than 570 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Total Production Throughput Capacity graph is provided by Mustang, a Wood Group company. Annually, Mustang partners with PennWell's Offshore magazine to produce the Worldwide Survey of FPSOs poster, a research tool with detailed information on all the FPSOs around the world. The poster can be obtained by emailing: posters@mustangeng.com

Another valuable feature of FPSOs is their relatively fast turnaround from design and construction to first oil. "The FPSO vessel has become integral to field development considerations," comments Wayne Mueller, vice president of the deepwater business unit at Alliance Wood Group Engineering. "The need to place additional units in service has created demand for both converted carriers and new-build vessels."

One solution, according to Wayne, is the Group's ability to standardize topsides construction with its design kit. "We have a kit or comprehensive database of proven designs and layouts with uniform approaches to address most conditions. It offers a range of advantages, such as shortening design schedules and reducing engineering costs while improving project design and minimizing risks." The FPSOs are connected to the kit on the seabed via flexible mooring lines and risers, in which Wood Group companies, J P Kenny and MCS are industry leaders.

Wayne's team has vast experience in FPSO design, including involvement in more than 15 world-class projects for operators and FPSO contractors. "We've designed topsides facilities for a number of leading oil producers, including the Fluminense FPSO for the Bijupira and Salema Fields for Shell in offshore Brazil; Su Tu Den for ConocoPhillips in Vietnam; the FPSO Umuroa in the Tui Field for Prosafe, offshore New Zealand; and most recently the Jubilee FPSO for Tullow Oil's Ghana development."

Although hydrocarbon reservoirs vary greatly depending on geographical locations and field characteristics, Wayne says there are opportunities to create facilities with standardized layouts, components and production systems.

What is the future of FPSOs? Are they a known quantity or is the industry still learning how to use them most effectively? Matt Sellers, business development for Mustang, says that although FPSOs have been around since the 1970s, new technological frontiers are conquered almost every year. "Whether it's delivering the FEED for working in ultra deep waters, producing the world's first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fractionation FPSO or working with clients to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification facilities on FPSO hull forms, we're always looking for ways to ensure the client has the right type of platform for each project," said Matt. Our proprietary technology for a re-gasification production kit is currently being studied for application on floating storage and re-gasification units (FSRUs). We have also taken a leading role in designing an LNG liquefaction process capable of being installed on a ship hull and have a patent pending for nitrogen-based liquefaction technology for chilling gas.

Due to Wood Group's size and scope of expertise across multiple disciplines, it will continue to be a major contributor to the success of FPSOs worldwide.