Offshore staff
GEOJE ISLAND, South Korea – Vicinay is to supply anchor chains for the mooring lines of INPEX’s Ichthys LNG project offshore northwest Australia.
The Bilbao-based company is manufacturing more than 25,000 metric tons (27,558 tons) of chain for the 28 mooring lines for thecentral processing facility (CPF), said to be the world’s largest semisubmersible platform, and 15,000 metric tons (16,534 tons) of chain for the associated FPSO.
This represents more than twice the yearly worldwide production of large-scale anchor chains, INPEX added.
First steel plates for the hull of the CPF were cut late last month at Samsung Heavy Industries’ plant in South Korea. When complete, the platform will measure 150 x 110 m (490 x 361 ft), with a displacement of 140,000 metric tons (154,323 tons), and gas export capacity of 1.7 bcf/d (48 MMcm/d).
Seiya Ito, INPEX president director Australia, said: “The CPF hull size is nearly at the limit of what the biggest shipyards can build in their dry docks today.”
Earlier last month, first steel was cut in Singapore for the FPSO’s turret. The vessel will be able to store around 1.2 MMbbl of condensate.
INPEX expects the facilities to sail from Geoje to Australia in late 2015, with first gas slated for end-2016.
2/5/2013
