PHOTO: Meet Maersk Oil’s Culzean-bound FSO Ailsa

Danish oil firm Maersk Oil has shared a photo on its social media channels showing the Culzean-destined Ailsa floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel currently under construction in Singapore.

The company said that almost 600 Maersk Oil staff took part in the naming competition with Ailsa emerging as the winner by securing half of all votes.

The name was inspired by the island of Ailsa Craig, a volcanic outcrop 16 kilometers from mainland Scotland and visible from the Culzean Castle, which lends its name to the Culzean field where the FSO will work upon completion.

When completed, the vessel will be 243 meters long which is, according to Maersk, longer than three Airbus A380s, the world’s largest passenger plane. The vessel’s highest point, at 52 meters, will be taller than Nelson’s Column in London and the vessel will be able to store the equivalent of over 430,000 barrels of oil.

Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine cut first steel for the Ailsa FSO vessel on July 22, 2016. The naming ceremony and maiden voyage will take place in 2018, and the FSO will remain in service until at least 2033.

The Culzean high-pressure/ high-temperature field will be developed using three bridge-linked platforms: a wellhead platform where drilling and production takes place; a central processing platform where the produced gas and condensate are processed and exported; and utilities and living quarters, providing accommodation, living space, and services for the crew.

Gas will be exported to the CATS pipeline, coming onshore at Teeside, with condensate exported via a short pipeline to the FSO vessel for offloading onto a tanker.

Offshore Energy Today Staff