VESSEL CONVERSION | Agogo FPSO – Floating production and storage unit boasts carbon capture technology
A floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) ordered by Singapore's Yinson Production has departed China and is en route to Angola, where it is scheduled to commence production this September.
The non-self-propelled Agogo FPSO was taken under tow and left the Shanghai facilities of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry earlier this month.
Originally built in 2009 as a crude oil tanker, the vessel has been converted by China’s Huarun Dadong Dockyard into an FPSO with a post-combustion carbon capture function.
By capturing CO2 from the combustion of gas turbines on board and thus preventing this from being released into the atmosphere, the FPSO can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 27 per cent. Yinson said it is the first FPSO in the world with a post-combustion carbon capture pilot system.
Agogo FPSO also features a closed flare system, hydrocarbon blanketing, combined cycle technology, automated process controls, all-electric drive systems. The incorporation of these features and the post-combustion carbon capture system are in line with Yinson Production’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Range of other emissions-reducing features
The variable frequency drives (VFDs) are used for the main rotating equipment and cargo offloading pumps, providing numerous advantages including fine process control and advanced regulation. The VFDs ensure efficient allocation of resources when needed.
A hydrocarbon blanketing system will be used as the main inert gas systems for the liquid hydrocarbon storage tanks. The hydrocarbon blanketing gas is then recycled back to the topside process for either export or re-injection, resulting in zero venting of hydrocarbon gas from the cargo tanks.
The flare system will be connected to a flare gas recovery compressor that will result in zero routine flaring during normal operations. The safety is maintained by installing fast opening valve arrangements on the flare lines.
In collaboration with Framo, Yinson equipped the FPSO with hydroelectric seawater turbines. As seawater is collected from onboard processes and subsequently discharged back into the sea, the kinetic energy of the moving water is utilised to operate the seawater turbine generator, thus generating additional electric power for the FPSO.
Yinson’s co-generation system recovers thermal energy that would otherwise be wasted, generating both electricity and heat more efficiently than if produced separately.
By using a gas turbine to drive an electrical power generator and recovering waste heat through a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), steam is generated. The steam is then directed through a turbine to generate supplemental electricity, reducing the need for fuel gas consumption on board.
Streamlined maintenance and significant production and storage capacities
TMC meanwhile provided a large-capacity marine compressed air system including compressors for control and service air on board the FPSO. The compressors have been developed to allow the vessel’s crew to conduct equipment maintenance themselves, eliminating the need to fly in technicians when needed.
The conversion work entailed the installation of 10 upper modules with a total displacement of over 15,000 tonnes and more than 100 kilometres of cables. VME Process was responsible for the EPC and pre-commissioning of process modules for high pressure separation, low pressure separation, produced water treatment, closed drain skid, seawater treatment and injection.
Agogo FPSO will operate for Angola-based oil producer Azule Energy, a 50/50 joint venture between BP and Eni, under a 15-year firm charter with the option to extend for another five years.
Once operational at Azule Energy’s Agogo Integrated West Hub Development Project in Block 15/06 off Angola, the FPSO will be able to store 1.6 million barrels of oil and produce up to 120,000 barrels per day.
