Floating early production systems (FEPS) are becoming more important to the successful exploitation of Australia's deep water oil and gas. Importantly, FEPS help oil and gas operators reduce deep water full field development risk, as uncertainty in the reservoir characteristics are reduced by obtaining dynamic data (that is, partially producing some of the reservoir). This paper will present a review of existing FEPS that are now in use or have previously been in use worldwide and will discuss where they are headed in the future. The paper focuses on:
The selection of the floating and subsea-vessel, mooring, riser, mechanical connection, etcetera;
Technology presently available; and,
Addressing the requirements in situations where new floating and subsea technology is needed.
The qualification limits of existing technology will be discussed in the context of what systems are ready and off-the-shelf for operators to make use of now. The choice of appropriate FEPS will be discussed as a function of: proximity to pipeline infrastructure, potential production rate, capability to re-inject associated gas, prevailing variation in year-round environmental conditions, waterdepth, and, geotechnical description of sea bottom. A high level conceptual case study showing typical costs for the implementation of a deep water FEPS will be presented as a way of understanding the potential upside and downside exposure for an operator considering undertaking a deep water FEPS program.
