Agbami Buoy

Installed alongside spread moored FPSO Agbami off West Coast Nigeria in 1370m water depth, this deepwater CALM Buoy was engineered, designed and supplied by SBM Atlantia.

The Agbami Field, located approximately 70 miles off the Nigerian coast, was first discovered in 1998. The $6 billion development is located in water depths of 4,800 feet (1,500 meters).

SBM Atlantia’s involvement began in 1999. Our scope included EPCI for the piles and mooring system for the FPSO and the first deepwater buoy executed from Houston. SBM led the consortium with Acergy for the complete Oil Offloading System (OOL).

The oil production rate for the FPSO was 250,000 BOPD to be offloaded in 1 million barrel parcels approximately every four days.

The buoy, the buoy piles, and the FPSO piles were fabricated by Nigerdock in Lagos, Nigeria. The FPSO piles, the largest installed by SBM Altantia to date, are up to 29 meters in height and weigh 104 tons each. The deepwater buoy is 23 meters in diameter and weighs 1050 tons.

The very taut mooring system was installed with the new SBM installation vessel the Normand Installer. During the vessel’s sea trials the vessel completed a record-setting 308-ton bollard pull.

Initially, it was a challenge to convince the client to execute the project from Houston. The major issue was the experience with the DWBs in Monaco that would be difficult to capture in a different office. The preparation, the strength of the project team and the Lessons Learned from Monaco helped convince the client to accept. Resources for the project were mobilized early to aid project setup. This endeavor continued to have a positive impact on the project.

Numerous hurdles challenged the project team: an increasingly challenging Security situation in Nigeria; labor strikes; an extended rainy season, and quality problems with mooring components.

The largest threat to on-line completion of the project was the discovery of defective shackles, H-links and tri-plates from our usual suppliers in France and Spain. In order for Agbami to execute on schedule, it was necessary to appropriate equipment that was purchased for other SBM projects.

The hook-up of the FPSO was completed on January 12^th in 2008. The loadout and launch of the buoy took place in the third week of January. First oil was July 28^th and the first offload was successfully done on September 12^th.