The brand-new Glen Lyon production ship will be ready to be towed to the Schiehallion field west of Shetland where it will anchor in the deep waters of the Atlantic, at the end of the month, says BP’s regional president for the North Sea, Mark Thomas.
It is expected to produce 400 million barrels of oil over the next two decades.
The floating production, storage and offloading facility is undergoing final dry commissioning work at the Aibel yard, Norwegian port of Haugesund.
A minimum of three days of good weather will be needed to allow basic mooring operations to be carried out. This will involve securing eight legs of the ship’s huge 9,000 tonnes mooring spread, after which hauling and securing the remaining chains can be completed with a little less urgency.
The vessel is packed with technology to make production cheaper and with the oil price low. And soon this will take up permanent residence in the harsh waters of west of Shetland.
The bottom half looks like an ordinary ship whereas the top half of the huge Floating Production Storage and Offloading facility (FPSO), looks like a traditional platform with mile after mile of pipes, a giant stack where the flare will burn and of course a helideck.
The first barrel is expected to flow through Glen Lyon at the end of this year, with production predicted to continue until 2035.
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