Wärtsilä to Power Australian FPSO

Wärtsilä Corporation won a contract to supply a 31.5 MW diesel power plant for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Mutineer-Exeter field of Santos Ltd off the north west coast of Australia.

The plant has been ordered by MODEC Inc of Tokyo, Japan, a leading designer and supplier of FPSO vessels, floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessels and tension-leg platforms for the world oil and gas industry. MODEC is converting an existing Suezmax tanker, of about 150,000 tdw, into a turret-moored FPSO vessel for Santos Ltd of Australia. It will be operated by MODEC on the Mutineer-Exeter field (WA-191-P) which is located approximately 150 km due north of Dampier on the north west coast of Australia.

The Mutineer-Exeter FPSO vessel will have a storage capacity for 930,000 barrels of crude oil and will be moored in 156 metres water depth. The turret mooring will allow the vessel to be disconnected easily when a cyclone approaches so that it can temporarily leave the field. The vessel will be capable of processing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day, and can treat 125,000 barrels a day of produced water. The first oil from the field is planned for mid 2005.

The Wärtsilä power plant comprises five diesel generating sets, each powered by a Wärtsilä 16V32LNE engine. Diesel engines were selected because the Mutineer-Exeter oil field has no gas which could be used as fuel. The engines will run on treated crude oil.