Hoists Designed for the Oil and Gas Industry Used in FPSO Mooring System

The J D Neuhaus company have a long established reputation for the design and manufacture of materials handling products. They also supply purpose designed equipment for specialized applications such as the oil and gas industry where safety and reliability are primary requisites.

For this purpose they can supply hoists, with a lift capacity range from 0.25Kg up to 100 tons, to API7K certification. These are high durability products rated explosion proof/spark resistant and powered by compressed air or hydraulics with corrosion resistant options also available. Customized lifting and control systems can be accommodated with load test certifications available through DNV, ABS, Lloyds and others. Typical land based or offshore equipment loads include BOP handling, FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) vessel mooring/tensioning together with a wide range of general materials handling requirements on jack-up rigs, semi-submersibles, drill ships etc. Specialized hoist applications have also been developed for operation in low temperature ‘cryogenic’ conditions, together with hoists for subsea operation down to levels of 70 meters.

The FPSO vessel is used as a temporary storage unit for oil or gas from offshore production platforms before it is subsequently transported by a pipeline or oil tanker to the store depot. An integral piece of equipment on FPSO’s are the hoists used to maneuver equipment both on and around the vessel. Subject to heavy loads and harsh environments, the JDN hoists provide an essential ‘strongest link’ in these material handling operations.

Bardex Corporation, headquartered in Goleta, California, was contracted to design and build the mooring system for an FPSO ordered from Elf Petroleum Nigeria, Ltd. (EPNL), a Nigerian subsidiary of French Oil company Total S.A., and contracted through Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). A number of overhead cranes were evaluated before Bardex concluded that JDN’s hydraulic overhead crane was the best option.

Instead of procuring 16 separate chain jack tensioning systems (four per corner of the FPSO and each rated at 18 tons), it was determined that one unit per corner could be used and a system of four overhead cranes used to move one chain jack tensioning system for use in all four corners of the FPSO. Additionally, the specially designed mooring system included sixteen fairlead stoppers each weighing in at almost 25 tons.

A system like this had never been built before, and JDN was the only crane builder in the world capable of supplying it to specification and on time. It comprised a hydraulically powered overhead crane with a hoist lift capacity of 18 tons, designed to withstand daily ocean environmental conditions with a high atmospheric moisture content.

Established in 1745, J D Neuhaus is the acknowledged premier manufacturer of air-powered handling equipment in the world. Their products operate safely and reliably in some of the most demanding and difficult environments in the automotive, oil & gas, and mining industries, while offering unmatched quality and superior service.

The stringent regulations, design codes and standards used in the manufacture and production of their products include:

REGULATIONS
DNV-OS-E101 – Drilling plant, October 2006
FOR 1994-08-19 nr 820: Forskrift om maskiner

DESIGN CODES AND STANDARDS
DNV-OS-C101 – Design of Offshore Steel Structure, General (LRFD Method), October 2008
DNV 2.22 – Lifting Appliances, October 2008
DNV-RP-C205 – Environmental conditions and environmental loads, April 2007
DNV-OS-C103 – Structural design of column stabilised units (LRFD Method), October 2008
FEM 1.001 – Rules for the design of Hoisting Appliances 1998.10.01
Norsok R–CR-002 – Lifting equipment, January 1995
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures – Part 1-8: Design of joints, 16 April 2004

NOTES
1. Fabrication to comply with Norsok M-101
2. Painting/Coating: Norsok M-501 Coating sys. no.1
3. Sharp edges, fillets, corners and welds shall be rounded, minimum radius 2mm
4. Material certificates acc to NS-EN 10204. 3.1b or equal
5. Material traceability required
6. Welding by certified welders
7. NDT requirements acc. To DNV 2.22 Lifting Appliances: - All members are considered to be primary structure