Wärtsilä powers North Sea FPSO

The project will comprise the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) delivery of two identical power generation modules, each housing two 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 50DF multi-fuel engines with generators, waste heat recovery units and all related fuel, oil and air systems.

Magnus Miemois, vice president, solutions, Wärtsilä Ship Power, said: “This engagement with Bumi Armada endorses the fact that our integrated power module solutions offer the critical fuel flexibility and the high levels of efficiency and availability that successful offshore operations demand.”

The engines are capable of being operated on a variety of fuel types, including treated well gas, heavy crude oil and marine diesel oil (MDO). The ability to use produced gas and crude means that little or no MDO will need to be shipped to the FPSO. This will significantly reduce operating costs and lower levels of CO2 emissions.

The EPC contract was awarded in December 2013 by Armada Kraken Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Malaysia-based international offshore oilfield services provider, Bumi Armada.

Bumi Armada will by using a recently built Suezmax tanker for the FPSO conversion, which will have a storage capacity of 600,000 barrels.

The Kraken oilfield development is one of the largest new oilfields in the UK sector of the North Sea and among the largest investments announced for this sector in 2013. Around 140m barrels of heavy oil are expected to be extracted from the field over the coming 25 years.

Wärtsilä will deliver the equipment in mid 2015, with the FPSO scheduled to started production at the Kraken field in 2016.