TURRET MOORING COMPLETES WORLD'S LARGEST FSO SYSTEM.

In January 1988, SOFEC Inc. completed design and construction of a turret mooring system for Yemen Exploration & Production Co. (YEPCO). The turret mooring was constructed and mounted to the bow of the 409,000 DWT tanker Safer. Safer sailed to location and was installed at YEPCO's offshore site in the Yemen Arab Republic (formerly North Yemen) where first oil flowed on March 22, 1988. Formerly ESSO Japan, the tanker, and its production facilities, constitute the largest permanently moored floating storage and offloading (FSO) system in the world. Described in this paper are details of the single point mooring turret, how it was designed, built and installed, and how it operates. Also presented is an overview of the FSO storage and offloading system with emphasis on the crude handling risers, swivel, valves and controls.