One of the most powerful high-speed marine engines will be part of an essential genset installed in a VLCC under conversion to an FPSO
One of the most powerful high-speed marine engines ever built will be installed as part of an essential generator set during the conversion of a 20-year-old crude tanker into a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Built in 2001 by Japan’s Hitachi Zosen, the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Ariake is undergoing a major conversion at Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine, under contract to Malaysian oil services Bumi Armada and its joint venture, Shapoorji Pallonji Bumi Armada Godavari Private Limited. The 333-m by 60-m Ariake will need its hull upgraded and, more significantly, the addition of three topside modules. Class societies ABS and Indian Register of Shipping are supporting the conversion work.
FPSO vessels have become essential tools in the production of oil in deep water. Typically, the large FPSO is stationary, with a number of wells feeding oil into its holds. The oil can then be offloaded to shuttle tankers transported to shore-side storage tanks and refineries.
When Sembcorp Marine completes the conversion in late 2021, the FPSO will be deployed off the east coast of India. It will be capable of storing up to 1.3M barrels of oil and processing 90,000 barrels of oil per day. Shapoorji Pallonji Bumi Armada Godavari was awarded a contract by India’s state-owned oil company Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd for the charter and operation of an FPSO in 2019.
The FPSO will operate in the ONGC NELP Block DWN 98/2 Development Cluster-II field, located off of Kakinada, India. The contract is for a fixed period of nine years, valued at US$2.1Bn. ONGC has the option to extend the contract for up to seven years, on an annual basis and if fully exercised, the extensions would be worth approximately US$655M.
Energy demands on a floating production vessel are significant. Much of the ship’s original machinery will be retained, including the Hitachi Zosen main engine. To meet additional energy requirements, an electric generator powered by Cummins’ most powerful marine engine will be installed as an essential genset. The 16-cylinder, QSK95-DM-powered generator is rated at 3,000 ekw, 60 Hz, 6,600 volts, with a power factor of 0.8.
“FPSO vessels have become essential tools in the production of oil in deep water”
The alternator is open coupled with the engine through a Vulkan high-flexible coupling. Both alternator and engine are solidly mounted on the base-skid, with the isolators located under it to reduce noise and vibration. A seawater pump is mounted on the engine, a loose-supplied heat exchanger is mounted on the front end of the base-skid.
To ensure safety of operation, two air shut-off valves will be upfitted on the engine and will act automatically in the event of emergency or overspeed. Beyond the engine-mounted electric starters, a second customer-supplied IPU hydraulic starter is also provided on the engine.
Cummins director of China marine marketing and sales Allen Xiong said: “[MT Power worked] closely with Cummins’ experienced engineers to overcome the engineering difficulties to complete the challenging assembly and delivery in China.”
MT Power is Cummins’ GOEM partner in China.
IMO Tier II-certified, the four-stroke V16 Cummins QSK95 is turbocharged and aftercooled, with a power range of 2,386 to 3,132 kW.
In addition to the QSK95-DM-powered essential generator set, the FPSO Ariake will be fitted with a powerful QSK60-DM emergency generator set, rated at 1,600 ekw and 440 volts, with the same 60 Hz and a power factor of 0.8.
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