First Subsea Supplies Riser Connectors for Gaza FSO

First Subsea has been awarded a contract by EMAS AMC (Singapore) to supply diverless bend stiffener connectors for risers and umbilicals connected to the turret moored, Gaza Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel, offshore Libya, in the Mediterranean.

In total, four First Subsea Type 2 bend stiffener connectors (BSCs) will be used to connect three flexible risers (14.75” and 10”) and a dynamic umbilical to the turret. The BSC connection comprises a ball and taper connector attached to a bend stiffener, which is pulled into a pre-machined, compact I-tube built into the turret. The connector is self-energising and self-aligning, and features First Subsea’s Automatic Release Clamp (ARC) enabling both diverless and ROVless riser and umbilical connections.

“We’ve designed the ARC to fully optimise the benefits of ease and speed of ball and taper connections,” says John Shaw, managing director, First Subsea. “It allows installation of risers and umbilicals in a single step, the ARC holding the bend stiffener connector in place while the flexible riser is pulled through.”

The Gaza FSO will replace the existing Sloug FSO in the Bouri field located 120km North West of Tripoli, Libya. Owned by Mellitah Oil and Gas B.V, the field includes a central processing platform DP4 and satellite platform DP3 in water depths of 170m.

EMAS AMC and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding are responsible for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning (EPCIC) of the Bouri field’s new offshore facilities. These include a single point mooring (SPM) system, Gaza FSO vessel, and new subsea pipeline with a tie-in to DP4 platform and the FSO, as well as a separate power cable from DP4 to the Gaza FSO.

The installation and hook-up of the new FSO is scheduled to take place in the first quarter 2015.