OTC 14096 A New Solution for Tandem Offloading of LNG

Jorgen Eide, Svein I. Eide, Arild Samuelsen, Svein A. Lotveit, Vidar Aanesland The OCL Group
Copyright 2002, Offshore Technology Conference This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2002 Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston, Texas U.S.A., 69 May 2002. This paper was selected for presentation by the OTC Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the Offshore Technology Conference or its officers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented.

Components and sub-systems are selected on basis of functional requirements. Critical components have been qualified in a step-by-step process. The qualification includes development of mathematical tools that have been verified through material testing, model testing and full scale testing. Verification includes design, manufacture and testing of the complete pull-in and connection system as well as full flow testing.

Abstract Many oil companies presently work on plans for production of Liquefied Natural Gas on a Floating LNG Production and Offloading (FLPO) vessel. All these schemes require suitable systems for offloading of the LNG to a transport tanker. Safety and regularity are important issues in design of offshore LNG production and loading systems. In addition to the offloading operation the tanker approach, connect, disconnect and departure phases include critical operations which are weather dependant and may impose restrictions on operability and regularity. The OCL system is a stern to bow, crane and flexible pipe solution that is developed, based on extensive experience from tandem offloading operations of crude in the North Sea in harsh weather conditions. The system is well suited for LNG transfer where high regularity is required and a large number of cargoes are shipped every year. The LNG tankers are dedicated transport vessels with modifications in the bow to suit purpose built hawser and loading facilities. When offloading the LNG carrier in a harbor a conventional LNG manifold offloading system in the center of the LNG tanker is used. In offshore loading, the two vessels are moored together in a crowfoot hawser configuration reducing the relative movements between the crane tip on the FLPO and the bow of the tanker. The LNG carrier is operating on constant stern thrust to ensure the required stability of the offloading system in both calm and harsh weather conditions.

Figure 1 The OCL LNG transfer system

Vessel model testing is used both as verification and calibration of the mathematical models and it ensures accurate calculation of the two vessels motions in the loading area and thus good prediction of the loads on the transfer system. The flexible pipe is the most critical part of the transfer system. The OCL system is based on a longitudinally welded, thin-wall stainless steel tube corrugated to provide the required bending flexibility. The finished flexible transfer pipe is a lightweight, double-wall construction with vacuum in-between the pipes as thermal insulation. The qualification process includes full-scale flow testing with both water and LNG. All tests and calculations show that the described solution will allow safe and economic transfer of LNG from a floating production vessel to a tanker. The OCL LNG transfer system will allow development of stranded gas reserves in areas with no infrastructure, or where a pipeline to a shore facility is not viable or economical.

JORGEN EIDE, SVEIN I. EIDEL, SVEIN A. LOTVEIT, VIDAR AANESLAND

OTC 14096

Description of the OCL LNG transfer system The LNG transfer system consists of a 35 meter high A-frame type crane extending from the stern of the production vessel towards the bow of the LNG tanker. Seven corrugated stainless steel flexible pipes are hanging from the tip of the crane; five are used to transfer LNG liquid to the tanker and two are dedicated to vapour return to the FLPO. On the FLPO the pipes are connected to the boom of the crane with swivels, the connection on the shuttle tanker side is fixed with bending stiffeners. The FLPO will be moored with a turret and product swivelstack arrangement allowing the vessel to weathervane freely. The LNG tankers will be custom-designed vessels with modifications in the bow to suit purpose-built mooring and loading facilities. When offloading the LNG tanker in a harbour, a conventional LNG manifold offloading system in the centre of the LNG tanker will be used. During offshore loading of LNG, the FLPO and LNG tanker will be held together using a crowfoot mooring arrangement that will separate the vessels by a nominal distance of 65 m. The bow of the tanker will be attached to the FLPO using two hawser lines, one each side of the FLPO stern. During the offloading operation, the LNG tanker maintains a constant stern thrust to ensure the required stability of the offloading system in both calm and harsh weather conditions.

of flexible pipes. The stinger also allow for convenient inspection and service access of all the critical components. The pull-in and connection head provides the transition between the flexible pipes and the shuttle tanker piping. The head will be made of non-sparking material. Each of the flexible cryogenic hoses terminates in the connector head manifold that has two 16 outlets for LNG and one 16 inlet for vapour return. During the transfer of the connector head from the FLPO to the LNG carrier, the connector flanges are covered with protectors to avoid humidity entering the piping. The connector head framework supports and protects the above equipment, and guides the connector head during hookup and release. Guideposts with guideline attachments are mounted on both sides of the connector head framework. The LNG carrier receptor funnel is positioned on the bow of the LNG carrier. The receptor funnel provides guidance for the connector head in the pull-in and release operations.

Figure 3 - The receiving funnel on the LNG tanker

Figure 2 - LNG transfer system stored on the stinger

The LNG vapour will be returned to the FLPO for reliquefaction and gas blowers are required on the tanker to return the boil-off and displaced gas. Two independent means of releasing the connection head from the LNG carrier will be provided, as in present ship to shore loading systems and using the same components and procedures that have been qualified in actual use for decades. When not in use, the crane is pulled back and the flexible pipes are stored on a stinger. The purpose of the stinger is to provide a supporting arch structure that creates sufficient storage for the complete length

The receiver frame is located at the end of the receptor funnel inside the bow of the LNG tanker. It serves two main functions; The first is to lock the connector head in position where it can be inspected, cleaned and dried. The second is to provide the means by which the final pull-in of the connector head is made to the mating flanges. Before the connector head is pulled in, four locking cylinders in the receiver frame mate with the pad-eyes on the connector head. The cleaning process takes place with the head in this position. After cleaning and drying, the final pull-in is made using the four hydraulic cylinders. The connectors are quick connect and disconnect fail-tosafe, i.e. in the event of loss of hydraulic system pressure, the connectors will remain locked. Activation force the springs open to effect an emergency disconnection. There are three double valve/connector sets on the tanker. Should the Quick Connectors system fail to release, the secondary Emergency Release system can be engaged, identical to the connection and release system used in ship-to-shore applications.

OTC 14096

A NEW SOLUTION FOR TANDEM OFFLOADING OF LNG

The tanker to terminal unloading is by means of a standard LNG unloading system located at the midship manifold. The OCL system is based on tandem mooring of the LNG carrier to the FLPO. By arranging the tandem mooring system with two lines, creating a triangle between each side of the FLPO s stern and the LNG carriers bow, three advantages are created: 1) The export tanker bow is effectively kept in position relative to the FLPOs stern. By using two x 100% mooring hawsers on each side of the crowfoot arrangement, redundancy in the mooring system is obtained. 2) Space for the cryogenic loading hose arrangement is provided between the mooring lines both on the FLPO side and the export tanker side. 3) On the LNG carrier side, the two mooring hawsers are connected to a tri-plate. From there the mooring load is transferred into a single chafing chain. By utilising the chafing chain, the hawser is prevented from coming into chafing contact with the LNG carriers fairlead.
FLPO side Mooring hawser

reduce heat convection and conduction. The pipe is protected against mechanical damage and is provided with additional tensile and radial reinforcement by means of an outer reinforced rubber hose. Bend stiffeners are used at the ends of the pipes to ensure the transition of forces and moment. To verify the assumed friction factors for the pipe, and thus the pressure losses in the pipe, the pipe has been subject to hydraulic testing (with fresh water) with flow rates of up to 2,500 m3/hr per pipe. Additional full scale testing of the pipe using LNG will be conducted at EBARAs pump test facility in Reno, Nevada in the spring 2002. The flexible pipes used for this loading system are based on a well proven cryogenic pipe design CryoFlex manufactured by Nexans, Germany. The flexible pipe design is shown on figure 6. In order to use this pipe in offshore loading operation it has been required to perform the following design optimisation and qualification: Trial manufacturing, different materials, different corrugation profiles, different wall thicknesses Small scale dynamic testing at ambient and cryogenic temperature Full scale testing, dynamic and static, ambient and cryogenic temperature FEM analysis Definition and calibration of design methodology for design loads and fatigue Interfacing with the rest of the OCL system, including safe operation envelopes and safety.

Triplate

Messenger line

Pipe description The dynamic LNG pipe shall be used to transfer LNG, return fluid/gas, liquid nitrogen or other fluids between a FLPO and a LNG shuttle tanker.
End termination

Export tanker side

FLPO
Bend stiffener

Figure 4 - OCL hawser arrangement

End termination CryoFlex pipe Bend stiffener

Shuttle tanker

Verification of the flexible pipe The distance, angle and relative height between the tip of the crane and the LNG carrier connection will vary within a fairly large operating envelope during loading operations. To cater for this, the transfer pipes need to allow for bending and torsion. The flexible pipes that have been selected for this purpose are made of two, concentric, thin-walled, longitudinally welded stainless steel pipes that are corrugated to a threaded profile to provide the required flexibility. The annulus between the pipes includes ring spacers to ensure the correct clearances, and super-isolation to improve thermal isolation. A vacuum is maintained between the pipes to

Figure 5 - OCL flexible pipe arrangement

The OCL pipe system consists of a 55m flexible pipe with bend stiffeners and end connections at each end. The material used is EN 1.4404 (or ASTM 316L) that has been chosen for the corrugated pipes due to its high strength when cold worked, high strength and high toughness at LNG

JORGEN EIDE, SVEIN I. EIDEL, SVEIN A. LOTVEIT, VIDAR AANESLAND

OTC 14096

temperature, good fatigue performance both at room temperature and LNG temperature, good weldability, good corrosion resistance and good formability during the corrugation process. Type EN 1.4404 is a molybdenum-alloyed austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel with extra low carbon content. For the stainless steel, this implies that requirements to material properties, welding and NDT are applicable for the considered design codes. The selection of austenitic stainless steel ensures that the corrugated pipe has sufficient ductility and fracture toughness for the relevant mechanical failure modes at LNG temperature. The vacuum is some 0.01 mbar at room temperature and is monitored during operation. The reflecting foils contain about 10 layers. It is a polyester foil, both sides coated with aluminium. Between these foils is a spacer-layer (thickness about 0.1 mm) consisting of pressed glass. The reflecting-foils will also improve the thermal insulation of the outer pipe and rubber hose in case of leakage of the corrugated pipes. A reinforced rubber hose is used as impact protection and additional axial reinforcement of the pipe. End terminations and bend stiffeners A typical end termination with bend stiffener is illustrated in figure 6. The pipe has a very good thermal insulation, such that it is possible to apply a polymeric bend stiffener. The bend stiffener is designed to give literally no bending in the pipe for a length of approximately one OD from the end termination. Outside this, the bending is allowed to increase gradually, with a smooth variation of bending moment within design limitations.

Item Outside diameter Internal volume Dry weight Weight LNG filled Axial stiffness, AE Bending stiffness, EI Torsion stiffness, GJ Minimum bending radius for storage
Table 1 - Flexible pipe properties

Data 358.0[mm] 0.0619 [m3/m] 36.5[kg/m] 64.3[kg/m] 5200 [kN] 41.0 [kNm2] 3487 [kNm2] 3.2 [m]

The thermal exchange coefficient of the CryoFlex pipe is less than 0.1W/mC. Outside surface metal temperature for a pipe filled with liquid nitrogen is in the range of 2-3 C below ambient temperature. Fatigue The fatigue life may be calculated based on the S-N fatigue approach under the assumption of linear cumulative damage (Palmgren-Miner rule). The proposed design S-N curve is determined by testing (cyclic axial loading) is plotted in figure 7. The curve is presented as global strain range (global) versus number of cycles to failure. The OCL flow pipe verification programme has included extensive testing of the corrugated steel pipes as shown in Table 2. See also figures 8-12 showing pictures taken during the various tests. The test program has included: 1. Four point dynamic bending test of vacuum insulated pipe with liquid nitrogen inside. 2. Flow test with water in bent pipe, flow of 2000m3/h. Sag was intentinally included to simulate a suspended and bent pipe. 3. Pressure test of bent pipe. 4. Dynamic torsion test of single wall corrugated pipe. 5. Tension and compression test of single wall corrugated pipes, untested sample in the middle. Model tests In 2000 a two part Demo2000 program was started; (1) a model test of the tandem loading system that was carrier out May 2001 in the Ocean Basin at Marintek in Trondheim, Norway and (2) a full scale verification test of the pull-in and connection operation that will take place spring 2002 in Framo Engineerings dry-dock close to Bergen, Norway. The program for 2002 also include full flow water and also LNG flow tests and a long-term mechanical endurance test of the flexible pipe. The model tests at Marintek demonstrated and verified the complete OCL system including floating production vessel and off-take LNG carrier. A number of different weather

Figure 6 - General view of the CRYOFLEX pipe with reinforced rubber hose

Performance data The pipe is designed for 10 bar internal pressure and 164C design temperature. The structural integrity have been checked for a typical FLPO and LNG tanker with maximum operating wave height HS=5.5 m. Fatigue life is specified to 5 years operation including 100 connections and disconnections per year with 24 hours loading duration and an average wave period of 8 seconds.

OTC 14096

A NEW SOLUTION FOR TANDEM OFFLOADING OF LNG

conditions were tested including significant wave heights ranging from 2.5m to 5.5m. Motion and acceleration levels were measured for both vessels and are used as input to dynamic analysis of the flexible pipes as well as full scale pull-in tests. The results from the model test fully support the mathematical tools developed to predict the vessels behavior in the Crawfoot mooring configuration and verified the assumed operating envelope of the OCL system. The numerical models can be applied to other developments using field specific vessels and environmental data. Conclusions The OCL Group1 is qualifying an LNG loading system that is designed to allow tandem loading of a tanker from a floating LNG production vessel with transfer rate 10.000 m3/h. The production vessel is moored with a turret and product swivel arrangement allowing the vessel to freely weather-vane. The loading system can be used in harsh or benign environment. The performance of the LNG transfer system has been verified in full scale and model tests in a verification programme that will be finished by end of summer 2002.

Framo Engineering A/S, Navion ASA, Advanced Production and Loading A/S, Seaflex A/S

JORGEN EIDE, SVEIN I. EIDE, SVEIN A. LOTVEIT, VIDAR AANESLAND

OTC 14096

Figure 7 - Design S-N curves for corrugated stainless steel pipes

Property

Fatigue testing

Structural capacity

Material properties LNG transfer rate

Test description Small scale tests of coupons cut from a corrugated steel pipe. The tests were performed both at cryogenic and room temperature. Full scale rotary bending test of single corrugated pipe Four point bending test of full scale vacuum insulated pipe at cryogenic temperature simulating 5 years of operation in harsh environment. Torsion fatigue Small scale tests of coupons cut out from a corrugated steel pipe Pressure test of full scale vacuum insulated pipe. The test were performed both with curved and straight pipe. Tension capacity of terminated rubber hose used as protection against impact and accidental tensile loads Axial elongation and compression Torsion Small scale tests of coupons cut from a corrugated steel pipe Full scale test of flow through the inner corrugated steel pipe.

Table 2 - Dynamic LNG pipe test programme

OTC 14096

A NEW SOLUTION FOR TANDEM OFFLOADING OF LNG

Mid section of pipe with constant curvature

Lifting point where dynamic load was applied

Weigth to pull pipe down

Figure 8 - Four point dynamic bending test of vacuum insulated pipe with liquid nitrogen inside.

Figure 9 - Flow test with water in bent pipe, flow in one pipe was tested up to 2.500m /h. Sag was intentinally included to simulate a suspended and bent pipe

JORGEN EIDE, SVEIN I. EIDE, SVEIN A. LOTVEIT, VIDAR AANESLAND

OTC 14096

Length measurement rod Vacuum meter

Figure 10 - Pressure test of bent pipe.

Figure 11 - Tension and compression test of single wall corrugated pipes, untested sample in the middle.

OTC 14096

A NEW SOLUTION FOR TANDEM OFFLOADING OF LNG

Figure 12 - Dynamic torsion test of single wall corrugated pipe.

10

JORGEN EIDE, SVEIN I. EIDE, SVEIN A. LOTVEIT, VIDAR AANESLAND

OTC 14096

Figure 13 Model test at Marintek in Trondheim, Norway FLPO and LNG tanker test set-up

Figure 14 Close-up at Crawfoot hawser arrangement and OCL LNG transfer system during loading