FPSO Operations on Dynamic Positioning

Abstract

As of March 2010, Bluewater’s FPSO Munin has been operating on Dynamic Positioning (DP) in the South China Sea. The station keeping is performed by the vessel’s DP system only; no anchor leg mooring is used. Offloading from the FPSO is done to conventional (non-DP) shuttle tankers. See Fig. 1. This means that the DP system has to deal with a relatively large external force, and that the tandem has to respond appropriately to changing environmental conditions. To prepare for this operation, extensive FMEA proving trials have been performed prior to start-up of production. Furthermore a bridge simulation program has been conducted in which the offloading operations have been trained. From the FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) proving trials, the offloading simulations and operational experience, a lot of knowledge has been gained on this specific DP operation. This knowledge is not only applicable to this single operation, but can also be used to enhance many other DP operations. This paper describes the Munin’s unique DP operations and the lessons learned from the FMEA proving trials, the offloading simulation program and operations in the field.