An FPSO is a floating production storage and offloading installation installed on a modified tanker. Here, oil & gas raw materials are processed, allowing semi-finished products to be transported to land after storage on board. This eliminates the need to ship raw products.
Due to the high design pressures (up to 310 barg), solutions have been devised to make the design suitable for this purpose. To save costly material (Duplex), smart and compact design is a must. For the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stage IGC suction coolers, the channels consist of one-piece forged headers with a cover plate. The tubesheet and channel are therefore one integral part. For the discharge cooler, a special high-pressure closure (TEMA type D) has been designed where the seal is achieved by internal pressure pressing a piston, fitted with very tight tolerances, into a graphite ring. This seals the construction. To design thermally efficiently and remain compact, F-shells have been designed to achieve pure countercurrent flow and the highest possible LMTD.
All coolers have a two-pass shell, a removable U-bundle with a horizontal longitudinal baffle, and a channel integral with the tubesheet. TEMA types CFU (DFU for the discharge cooler). Tubes and tubesheets in Duplex, shells in C-steel, designed and built according to ASME VIII Div.1, TEMA R, API 660, and certified by ABS (American Bureau of Shipping).
This concerns a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stage IGC suction cooler and a 3rd stage IGC discharge cooler for an FPSO.