Development of deepwater oil and gas reserves require cost-effective and flexible floating solutions that allow for an optimal reservoir management over the field life. For the operator it is beneficial to select a field development solution that can accelerate and maximize the hydrocarbon recovery in a cost-effective manner.
Eliminating the need for an additional well intervention platform, a Floating Production & Workover Unit (FPWU), has been developed allowing for an optimized production and reservoir management over the field life. An FPWU based on a large monohull floater, allows for easy access to the subsea wells, clustered directly under the floating platform. Workover activities are performed through a large diameter turret. Produced hydrocarbons can be directly exported via pipelines, avoiding on-site crude oil storage.
Based on a combination of existing technologies, the FPWU combines the cost and schedule advantages of the wet tree solution with the easy well access as provided by a dry tree solution. The turret moored vessel, allows for a high degree of flexibility with respect to the design requirements, including operational water depth, riser count, topside payload and deck space requirement. The FPWU can also be used as a main hub for future developments in the area.
This paper will present the FPWU design and discuss the key technologies on which the system is based. The general features and performance of an FPWU will be discussed for a typical Gulf of Mexico deepwater field development. Comparing the FPWU to alternative floater systems in the deepwater, shows that the FPWU is a safe and cost-effective deepwater field development solution that can improve the overall project economics of deepwater developments significantly.
