Citation
(2004), "Akzo Nobel supplies coatings for largest floating, production, storage and offloading vessel", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 51 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2004.12851cab.021
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Akzo Nobel supplies coatings for largest floating, production, storage and offloading vessel
Akzo Nobel supplies coatings for largest floating, production, storage and offloading vessel
Akzo Nobel has supplied coatings for one of the largest and most complex floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels ever built for the oil industry.
Weighing in at more than 300,000 tons and measuring 300 × 75 m, the GBP 300 million (USD 555 million) Bonga has been painted from stem to stern with products supplied by the companys International Coatings business.
The massive vessel – which will eventually be capable of producing a mind boggling 225,000 barrels of oil per day and has the capacity to store 2 million barrels – took 4 years to plan and build.
The hull was constructed in South Korea, where more than 456,000 m2 was coated with Intershield® 300, supplied by Internationals Korean operation.
The Bonga was then towed by three tugs the 13,000 nautical miles to AMECs Wallsend yard on the River Tyne in the UK for the 22,000 tonne topsides, including oil production machinery, to be fitted. This gave the FPSO a completed deadweight of 345,000 tonnes.
Its arrival caused considerable interest in the UK, as the vessel had to be towed along the British coastline at walking pace. The Tyne also had to be dredged by an extra 6 m.
International products applied in the UK included Interzinc® 52 primer, Intergardw 475HS midcoat and Interthane® 990 topcoat. Chartek® intumescent fire protection coatings were also used in the accommodation areas.
Capable of storing a staggering 2 million barrels of oil, the Bongas hull is divided into 15 storage tanks, with additional water ballast wing tanks, as well as tanks for diesel, methanol and other chemicals.
The vessel, which left the UK in October, is currently the en route for the Niger Delta, where it is scheduled to begin production by the end of June.