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Two-year project to convert a tanker to an FPSO

TWI served as the technical authority on all matters relating to welding for the duration of a two-year project to convert a shuttle tanker to a $1 billion floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

OOGTK Libra GmbH & Co KG is a joint venture between Odebrecht Oil & Gas and Teekay Petrojarl that oversaw the conversion of Navion Norvegia, a tanker built in 1995, into the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra. Carried out across four shipyards in South East Asia, the conversion process began at the end of October 2014 and was completed in early 2017.

TWI’s expertise in welding technology and international reputation in the oil and gas industry meant the company was drafted in to provide technical support throughout the project.

TWI’s contribution to the project included the following:

  • Ensuring the correct welding procedure qualifications were in place, in accordance with varying welding standards and codes (ASME IX, AWS D1.1 or ABS) and internal specifications.
  • Auditing the four shipyards, spread across three countries, to ensure the different subcontractors were all following sound working practices.
  • Overseeing inspection of critical areas using phased array ultrasonic and eddy current testing, advising on specific inspection procedures and assessing results.
  • Providing two experienced welding engineers to support the attachment of the FPSO turret head to the vessel.
  • Assessing the potential risk of distortion when attaching the turret head.

Over the course of the project TWI assessed more than 250 welding procedures. As the project progressed, it provided OOGTK with regular updates, including frequent conference calls and a detailed monthly report.

For OOGTK, TWI’s involvement meant the company could be sure that the welding procedures being used during the project were properly qualified and that everyone involved had access to top-tier technical support on any issues relating to welding, inspection, corrosion and distortion.

With TWI’s input, the conversion project was completed after a total of more than 17 million man-hours of work that saw more than 3000 people working on the vessel every day.

The FPSO Pioneiro de Libra will operate on the Libra pre-salt area in the Santos Basin off the coast of Brazil. As its name suggests, it will be the first vessel to produce oil from the area.

The FPSO will be capable at operating at water depths of up to 2400 metres and producing 50,000 barrels of oil per day. OOGTK expect the vessel to remain in service for the next 12 years.

If your company has a construction, conversion or inspection project ahead, and you would like assurance that all welding-related activities are carried out according to best practice, TWI can help.

We provide a complete range of services to the oil and gas industry. For further information please email contactus@twi.co.uk.

Avatar Dave Howse Consultant Welding Engineer

David Howse has more than 30 years’ experience in welding engineering, having worked on major projects relating to oil and gas, construction and infrastructure. He graduated in metallurgy from Leeds, later completing an EngD entitled ‘Improved productivity in fusion welding’ at Warwick, and has authored and contributed to more than 20 publications.

David joined TWI in 1994 as a senior project leader in the arcs section. He later spent time as section manager in lasers before, more recently, assuming a senior technical role in the Arc Processes, Fabrication and Welding Engineering section. David has provided technical support to many of TWI’s member companies and overseen a large number of research projects into various aspects of joining technology.

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