The concept
An FSRU should be designed and classified as a ship under international rules and regulations. As a ship it will require dry-docking within maximum 5 years intervals, but as ship designed FSRU is less costly and has a shorter construction time than if it was classified as an offshore installation.
The FSRU can be offshore-moored or moored to a jetty. If moored offshore regasified LNG is discharged from the FSRU via a turret and swivel through a mooring and unloading buoy connected to a riser and subsea pipeline, designed by APL and based on their North Sea proven STL technology. (same buoy as the SRV system; which will allow a combination of an FSRU and SRV systems)
LNG is pumped from the tanks and sent to regasification units mounted on the deck of the FSRU. Pressure is boosted by large cryogenic LNG pumps. Steam generated by auxillary boilers in the vessel main engine room produces the heat necessary to regasify the LNG in the regasification unit’s heat exchanger. The regasification units design has been developed by Hamworthy Gas Systems Norway.
The FSRU will be capable of disconnecting from the mooring buoy without assistance to move to a dry docking yard and also in case of hurricanes or extreme weather conditions within about 2 hours. It may also be relocated for commercial reasons to a new position, permanently or seasonally.
The FSRU may be a conversion or a newbulding. Conversion studies of our own vessels have been performed and no showstoppers have been identified.
An FSRU is also very flexible, it can be moved to new locations and it can also be used as a conventional vessel.
The benefits
The FSRU can be constructed within 36 months. With a 12 months permitting and design process and 2 months transit time from its construction site, a total of 50 months is foreseen from start to finish of such a project.
The FSRU will be very cost competitive compared with shore-based terminals and off-shore Gravity Base Structures. The LNG industry is extremely capital intensive however; solutions such as the FSRU and SRV can contribute to lower the overall costs.
In a similar fashion as the SRV, the FSRU has a major environmental advantage compared to shore based and offshore fixed gravity based terminals. The FSRU is cost competitive for medium to large regas volumes and medium to long shipping distances.
Focus
FSRU
