FPSO (Floating Production Storage Offloading) vessels are ideally suited for development of remote-region projects because tankers and onsite storage are needed to transport crude oil to markets. Therefore, an FPSO offers an attractive development solution to deepwater fields in the Arctic where fixed platforms are not feasible from either technical or commercial perspectives. In this paper, the existing technology of the turret-moored disconnectable FPSO is presented first. Then, design considerations of a disconnectable mooring system are discussed based on the additional requirement of load transfer, disconnected subsea system, disconnections and reconnections. These requirements often conflict with the ones of flow assurance, topside layout, ventilation and fire protection. These conflicting requirements are also discussed in this paper.

Keywords:
subsea system, fpso, floating production storage & offloading, upstream oil & gas, floating production system, floating production storage and offloading, bearing system, horizontal load, connector, iceberg draft
Subjects:
Offshore Facilities and Subsea Systems, Floating production systems
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Copyright 2012, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
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