FPSO Standards and Recommended Practices

Abstract

Abstract The oil and gas production industry has expressed an interest in being able to utilize Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units as a development option in the deepwater areas of the United States (U.S.) Gulf of Mexico (GOM) outer continental shelf (OCS). Operators will need regulatory approval from both the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) for a FPSO project. Neither the USCG nor MMS currently have regulations specifically for the design and operation of FPSOs on the OCS. A workgroup was formed under the Offshore Operators Committee's Deepwater Subcommittee to assist MMS and USCG in reviewing the existing regulations and body of standards, specifications, recommended practices and classification society rules and guides concerning the design and operation of FPSOs on the OCS for the Gulf of Mexico. The effort also aimed to identify gaps in the regulations and industry standards. This paper provides a summary of the major findings of the workgroup. In addition to the items discussed in this paper, the workgroup report identified other areas where additional modifications to regulations or industry standards may be warranted. Introduction As operators have moved into the deeper waters of the GOM over the last several years, interest has been growing in potentially utilizing FPSOs as a development option to the floating production systems (tension leg platforms (TLP), spars, etc) and subsea tie backs to either floating production systems or fixed platforms that are currently being utilized. In discussions with MMS and USCG, it became apparent that several studies would need to be conducted to confirm the acceptability of these systems for the GOM. MMS indicated that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be prepared for the first FPSO proposed to be utilized in the GOM. In working with industry, MMS agreed to do a programmatic EIS on the generic use of FPSOs in the GOM if industry would fund the study. The joint industry project DeepStar agreed to fund the EIS1. The draft EIS on the Proposed Use of Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Systems on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf in the Western and Central Planning Areas2,3 was published in August 2000 for comment. The final EIS is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2001 with a Record of Decision to be published no earlier than 30 days from the publication of the final EIS. The second study effort was to do a comparative risk assessment to evaluate and compare oil spill and fatality risks for the FPSO with a spar, a TLP and a shallow-water jacket serving as a hub and host to deepwater production. The Offshore Technology Research Center completed that study for MMS4.