Oil-free compressors used for commission of FPSO

Paul Boughton
Two Atlas Copco Specialty Rental oil-free compressors used for the commissioning of record FPSO vessel by Sembawang Shipyard.

Atlas Copco Specialty Rental’s Singapore operation has supplied two PTS 916 oil-free air compressors and a desiccant dryer for the commissioning of the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the Hai Yang Shi You 117, by Sembawang Shipyard.

The vessel will be moored in the shallow water Bohai Bay as part of China’s Peng Lai 19-3 Phase II oil development project for Conoco Phillips.

The two Atlas Copco PTS 916 100 per cent oil free air compressors provided the air supply for all air related pipes installed in the vessel’s superstructure installed at Sembawang.

The use of the rental units is preferred since the permanent onboard compressor is run off the ship’s engine – which is both expensive and impractical to run whilst in the shipyard.

The 100 per cent oil-free PTS 916’s feature an actual free air delivery (fad) of 37.4 m3/min ( 1.32 cfm) at 10.3 bar ( 1.32 psi). In order to ensure totally dry air to a dew point of -40ºC, the rental also included an Atlas Copco desiccant dryer.

The PTS series of oil free compressors use the same element as the Atlas Copco Z series of oil-free rotary screw air compressors which became the first range of compressors to be TÜV certified ISO 8573-1 Class 0.

Certification was recently carried out by TÜV using the most stringent test methods available, simulating both average and severe industrial environments.

At all test conditions no traces of oil could be determined and the compressed air was certified to be in the category ‘Class 0’ in terms of total oil content.

The PTS 916’s form part of a fleet of almost 70 oil-free and high pressure oil-injected air compressors held in the Singapore ‘yard’ of Atlas Copco Specialty Rental; with according to Regional Manager Matt LeCornu , the 100 per cent oil-free PTS 916 being the most in demand.

The operation provides the hub for its Asian activities with customer centers in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, plus a new centre being established in Vietnam.

If offers a ‘total solution’ package providing everything including the unit rental, manifolding, external piping to fuel tanks, fuel supplies and, if required, operators, plus a full range of desiccant dryers – to serve the oil and gas, petrochemical, gas separation, pipelines, food and beverage, semi-conductors, glass and manufacturing and mining sectors of industry.

The rental specialist has worldwide access to more than 2,500,000 m3/h (1,600,000 cfm) of oil-free air available from its Atlas Copco Specialty Rental operations.

The hull of the Hai Yang Shi You was fabricated in China by Shanghai Waigaogiao Shipbuilding Co before being towed to Sembawang, Singapore for the FPSO topside modules to be fabricated, installed on the deck and integrated with the hull.

It is the largest vessel of its type in China with a length of 323m, a breadth of 63m and a depth of 32.5 m for an onboard storage capacity of 1.8 million barrels of crude oil.

The 300,000 dwt vessel is one of the largest of its type in the world and the most expensive ship China has ever built.  Besides being able to load and process raw crude and store and offload stabilised crude, the FPSO vessel can also serve as the production unit for an offshore crude or natural gas exploration project.

For more information, visit www.atlascopco.com

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