SolidWorks 2010 Orwell Offshore design large Production Buoy for South East Asia

With offices located in Singapore and the UK, Orwell Offshore provides construction, conversion, engineering and naval architecture services for the marine and offshore industry.

Orwell has a proven project portfolio, the latest of which is a production buoy designed to operate in South East Asian waters. The design has been developed to an existing field in South East Asia – a region that experiences periodic extreme weather during monsoonal seasons. The production buoy is developed to accommodate two 6” production risers and two control umbilicals with scope to connect an additional four lines. A six point mooring system anchors the buoy to the seabed and is designed to withstand sea states of up to 11m significant wave height.

The production buoy has an overall diameter of 20m, a hull depth of 7.5m, a swivel stack housing height of 10m and a design displacement of 833te. The swivel stack is designed to rotate on a 3m bearing which enables a tanker to connect to the buoy and freely weathervane 360º in seas of up to 5m significant wave height.

The CALM buoy provides a readily accessible connection point to the subsea production system. This is one of the core advantages of production buoys in offshore field developments in terms of operating safety, protection of the environment and production efficiency.  Production time at the field is maximised by enabling the tanker to be connected in moderate seas with a reduced demand on station keeping. In harsh weather conditions, the tanker can perform a controlled disconnect and relocate to sheltered waters whilst the buoy maintains the integrity of the umbilical and riser systems.  

Orwell Offshore’s Managing Director, Mark Evans introduced SolidWorks modelling to develop the buoy’s structural and engineering systems to ABS Class approval. Three dimensional computer aided design has enabled faster, more accurate design development and optimisation. The design engineers and client are able to visually explore the model ensuring correct systems integration and a design that is ‘right first time.’ This provides a more streamlined process from design development to production and significantly reduces the risk of costly fabrication errors in the production stage.  

Orwell Offshore has taken advantage of onsite customised training, to ensure the most productive techniques are being used for this size and complexity of structure.

Further information on Orwell Offshore’s SolidWorks capability can be seen on their website (www.orwell-offshore.com)

(NB:To get a feel for scale, there is man walking up the stairs and next to the red door above the blue Platform)