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[li]This isBrazil[/li]> [/LIST]Almost a year after they had planning to start production, oil has finally started to flow from Petrobras’ Cascade Field, 250 kilometers south of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Collecting these hydrocarbons is the BW Pioneer FPSO (a Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessel platform), which is literally anchored in water 2,500 meters (over 8000 feet) deep.
This is the first FPSO to produce oil and gas in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and it is capable of processing 80,000 barrels of oil and 500,000 cubic meters of gas per day and of storing 500,000 barrels of oil. The vessel is fitted with a detachable mooring system that allows it to sail to sheltered areas during hurricanes and storms, providing security to both the crew and to the environment as well as preserving equipment.
The Cascade 4 production well was drilled and completed in Lower Tertiary reservoirs (formed between 23 and 65 million years ago), a promising offshore exploration frontier which is located at a depth of about 8,000 meters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thank you to the gCaptain staff for posting this. I am really hoping that the project proves successful as I see the chance for many more FPSOs in the Gulf with many more shuttle tankers being needed. It could be a big new source of employment for us Americans
Anyone who has ever worked with FPSOs will not be thrilled to hear that. Most have a crane with about a 9 meter boom. Wait until you get next to that thing and she starts swinging. I am surprised that they are going to allow them in the GOM.
The crane on the BW Pioneer is 18m and they do put out yokohamas. Glad I don’t have to spend time alongside them. I have noticed that they do have a forward crane where they receive their liquids and really long hoses so once you are connected, you can move out to a very comfortable distance. I have worked with the petrobras folks and as far as majors are concerned, they are good to work with. The Marine crew on the Pioneer seem professional as well.
I’ve heard nothing but bad about working alongside these things in Brazil…hope it’s all just scuttlebutt if they are going to become common in the GoM.
I’m working with this FPSO, not on a supply boat or crew boat but I am here almost every day. The crew and company reps on the FPSO are good to work with but, like anything else there are certain things unique about it if you are on a supply boat servicing them; primarily the fact that you will only be 20-30 feet off of them while offloading or backloading cargo and they are not DP. They are connected to a turret underneath their bow and pivot off of it, so yes they do swing but not at a fast enough rate to get you in to trouble, as long as you pay attention.
I have worked 2 in Mexico, 2 in Nigeria, and the one in the Jubilee Field in Ghana. I must say that I absolutely hate every second I am ever beside one of these things.
We are working this FPSO. We can work cargo up against the headache racks or transfer fuel and methanol, but anything involving the middle of our deck requires an MOC because their crane is so short.
Still, it beats when we were fueling them at anchor off LOOP: we were chasing them 60m back and forth on DP with a fuel hose hooked up.
All I can say is good luck! I am pulling my hair out working in Brasil with the FPSO’s/FSO’s. The have short booms and Petrobras does not permit tag lines (cabo guia). The best way is to slam the cargo into place and hope your vessel does not get damaged. Maybe it will be different in the GOM, I sure hope so. The fun part is when they start to rollin’ and/or swingin’ and you are alongside doing ops. Stay on your toes! (As should always be anyways)