VESSEL REVIEW | BW Opal – BW Offshore's newest FPSO boasts emissions-reducing technologies
Singapore shipbuilder Seatrium has handed over a new floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) to BW Offshore.
BW Opal will be operated under a lease and operate contract worth approximately US$4.6 billion. The contract has a firm period of 15 years plus up to 10 years' worth of options.
The FPSO has a hull length of 358 metres (1,170 feet), a beam of 64 metres (210 feet), and a gas handling capacity of 24 million cubic metres (850 million cubic feet) per day and a design capacity of 11,000 barrels of stabilised condensate per day.
The unit will be turret moored with a hull built using BW Offshore's proprietary design engineered to support advanced topsides, which weigh in at 45,000 tonnes each.
Full selection of emissions-reducing systems
BW Offshore said the FPSO's operation will ensure 15 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional systems.
This translates to a reduction of up to 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the life of the asset, which is designed with a closed flame flare system and a hydrocarbon cargo tank blanket system with vapour recovery.
BW Offshore expects the design will minimise the greenhouse gas emissions from open flame flaring and cargo tank operations over the operating life of the asset.
Additionally, a combined cycle gas turbine system with waste heat recovery capability will help lower energy consumption by up to 66 per cent compared to industry standards, helping to maximise both economic and environmental performance.
Now operational off Australia
BW Opal will be deployed at the Santos-operated Barossa field in the Timor Sea approximately 285 kilometres (459 miles) off Darwin in northern Australia. According to Seatrium, this will make it one of the largest FPSOs ever delivered to Australia.
The Barossa field will be developed via BW Opal with six subsea production wells, in-field facilities and a gas export pipeline tied into the Bayu-Undan to Darwin pipeline system that supplies gas to Darwin LNG.
