FPSO Conceptual Design System Tools Considering Hurricane Data Base and Production Requirements

Abstract

The conceptual design is an important stage of the engineering process of any floating production system. This design stage takes into account the specific site conditions and production requirements to find a feasible technical alternative of the system characteristics, from which in the next engineering stage the structure is improved. Among the basic characteristics of a floating production system are the hull main dimensions, which have to meet the production and stability requirements, as well as the mooring system characteristic. The mooring system definition mainly depends on the water depth, hull dimensions and the environmental site conditions. The environmental conditions are different from site to site, where in some sites around the world harsh conditions like hurricanes or typhoons may occur. Therefore, in the dimensioning of the mooring system such environmental conditions have to be considered. In the case of Gulf of Mexico, hurricane conditiones have presented a risk to the oil and gas existing facilities as it is evident on the severe damages and failures they have provoked in some cases. The present study aims to consider a computational tool that takes into account in the conceptual design stage a data base of hurricane conditions in Gulf of Mexico, as well as the production and site requirements so that to carry out the basic sizing of hull and mooring systems. The tool also considers a data base considering different hull sizes (wave force coefficients) and mooring materials to estimate the environmental loads and the mooring system design.