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Courtesy of Maritime Pusnes AS |
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Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) are being used increasingly for the production of oil from offshore fields, which cannot be served economically by pipeline infrastructure. These vessels may be purpose-built or converted tankers. However, there are important differences in the structural requirements between the hull of a tanker and that of an FPSO. Whereas a tanker will experience a variety of en route sea conditions and can be navigated to avoid the worst weather, an FPSO is permanently moored and will experience year round weather conditions typical of that location. Consequently, the hull of an FPSO may be subject to more severe fatigue than that of a tanker, which will be subject to dry dock survey.
TWI undertakes confidential work to provide improved guidance on the application of fatigue rules in areas of complex geometric stress distribution. In addition, TWI has completed a number of confidential studies covering structural integrity and material performance and is conducting an assessment of the fitness-for-service of a newly fabricated FPSO hull.
Contact: oilandgas@twi.co.uk