Ichthys LNG Project FPSO takes major step towards completion

The INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project has begun integration of the lower turret with the Project’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility.

Having travelled from Singapore, the unique 4,200 tonne, 31 metre-tall turret structure was safely inserted into the hull of the FPSO, which is currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in Okpo, South Korea.

Three components make up the overall FPSO turret: the lower turret, the manifold and the gantry frame. When completed, the turret will measure 85 metres in height and weigh 8,700 tonnes, making it one of the largest in the world.

Ichthys LNG Project Offshore Director Claude Cahuzac said the turret was one of the most technically complex pieces of Project equipment. 

“Almost everything that will enter or leave the FPSO will do so through the turret – through chemical injection lines, transfers lines or control and power cables that provide it with fluid, gas and power from the nearby central processing facility,” Mr Cahuzac said.

“The turret also provides the semi-submersible FPSO with its mooring system – with mooring lines connecting directly to the turret and not the facility – so that it can withstand cyclonic weather conditions. 

“It also gives the FPSO its ability to weathervane, because the facility will rotate around its turret.”

The Project’s FPSO will process and store condensate from the central processing facility and periodically offload stabilised condensate to shuttle carriers for export directly to market. 

Once complete, the facility will be towed 5,600 km to the Ichthys Field in the Browse Basin, offshore Western Australia, where it will be permanently moored to the seabed for the life of the Project.