Hanwha Ocean is moving toward a new strategy to develop floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units for deepwater projects in South America and West Africa. The company obtained Basic Design Review (BDR) certification from ABS for a standardized platform whose FEED design has already undergone technical review for fundamental systems such as the hull, topsides, and mooring.
The difference from the traditional model lies in the development philosophy. An FPSO usually evolves around the specific characteristics of each field, which necessitates repeating a considerable portion of engineering, integration, and validation. Hanwha Ocean now proposes a base architecture that can be used across different projects and subsequently adapted to the particular conditions of each site.
The goal is to reduce execution times and improve cost competitiveness through previously developed and reviewed design platforms. ABS notes that this strategy represents a departure from completely customized designs for each project.
A common architecture for different fields
An FPSO integrates numerous systems that must function as a single offshore unit: floating structure, storage, hydrocarbon processing, power generation, auxiliary services, safety, and mooring system. However, not all of these elements need to be reinvented when the field changes.
Hanwha Ocean’s strategy consists precisely of identifying which components and architectures can become a reusable platform. On this basis, necessary modifications can later be introduced to adapt processing capacity, operating conditions, produced fluid characteristics, storage requirements, or site environmental conditions.
Therefore, standardization does not mean building identical FPSOs. It means establishing a common architecture that allows a significant portion of engineering to be carried over from one project to the next.
This difference can be especially relevant in deepwater developments, where the scale of the facilities and the complexity of integration mean that decisions made during FEED have consequences for construction, installation, and commissioning.
ABS validates the design before the specific project
The BDR certification is a key piece of this strategy because ABS reviewed the fundamental FEED documentation and technical standards applicable to essential FPSO systems. The classification society also issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design, incorporating features intended to meet the requirements of the SUSTAIN-2 notation.
In a completely customized project, a large part of the engineering is developed around the characteristics of a specific field. With a standardized platform, part of that engineering can be performed in advance, reaching a future tender with an already developed and reviewed architecture.
The intended result is a reduction in repetitive work during the early phases of the project.
However, there is a fundamental distinction: the certification of a base design does not automatically turn every field into an identical project. Adaptation engineering remains necessary because reservoir conditions, fluids, flow rates, process equipment, and operator requirements can vary significantly.
Sustainability enters engineering
The certification also incorporates a second dimension. ABS issued a Statement of Fact regarding Hanwha Ocean’s Project Sustainability Execution Plan (PSEP), designed to link sustainability requirements with engineering deliverables, performance indicators, responsibilities, and verification evidence.
This turns sustainability into an integrated variable in project execution rather than just a subsequent corporate statement.
The initiative is part of the development of the so-called Low Carbon Standard FPSO, in which Hanwha Ocean aims to incorporate reusable features and sustainability criteria within a platform intended for future applications.
The company had also already completed an independent pre-FEED study for deepwater oil and gas developments in West Africa, which previously received an approval in principle from ABS. Both programs are part of a broader strategy to build a portfolio of standardized FPSO designs targeting the world’s major deepwater markets.
SOURCE and PHOTO: https://pressreleases.eagle.org
