Duplex Quick Opening Closures improve safety and reliability
FPSOs require high-pressure Quick Opening Closures ( QOC ) to maintain operational safety and reliability . In addition to providing safe access to pipelines and pigging facilities , QOC are integral to produced water treatment systems , production separators , and fuel gas filter separators .
By Joanne McIntyre , Stainless Steel World
The offshore production of hydrocarbons is moving into deeper and more remote locations . FPSOs have revolutionised deepwater drilling , allowing operations to produce oil in areas that were not previously viable . The economy and ease of deploying small-scale FPSO vessels to exploit smaller reservoirs , which would have traditionally necessitated the construction of an offshore platform , is being made even more attractive through Government incentives . However , design requirements are becoming more arduous .
What are QOC ? Quick Opening Closures ( QOC ) are highly engineered doors with a quick-action mechanism , used to quickly access pipelines or pressure vessels . Typical applications are end closures for pig launchers & receivers ( scrapper trap doors ), pressure vessel end closures ( filter vessel quick open closures ) and blow-down lines end closures . QOC are designed , engineered and manufactured according to the most stringent international standards applicable to Pressure Vessels for Oil , Gas and
Petrochemical industry , such as ASME VIII div . 1 & 2 , ISO EN 13445 .
Operators must think ahead Early consideration of design requirements for deep water , high pressure applications such as FPSOs is essential to ensure efficient supply chain operations , as is timely integration and installation of the QOC into pressure vessel design packages . This means FPSO operators must think ahead , as Carla Connolly , Global Sales Director for GD Engineering , explains .
www . stainless-steel-world . net Stainless Steel World June 2024 47