FPSO’s fresh water supply from Eimco Water Technologies

Located in the Schiehallion oil field in the North East Atlantic Ocean to the west of the Shetland Islands, the high operating costs for the FPSO’s existing fresh water making plant led BP to evaluate the payback of replacing the old system with the latest development in Reverse Osmosis (RO) Technology, as designed by Eimco Water Technologies.
The new design had to meet very tight transportation criteria, including the need for it to fit into the existing footprint to minimise pipe-work and modification during installation.
The RO system replaces traditional methodologies and components with latest developments that include maintenance-free Axial Piston Pumps, guaranteed for three years, which have also significantly reduced the amount of space required.
By introducing a new Proportional Chemical Dosing Technique, Eimco Water Technologies is expected to also reduce chemical refill frequency from a daily task to just once every 50 days, eliminating the need to dilute chemicals.
A PLC/HMI Interface allows the plant to operate automatically and the installation of the latest membrane technology should save on costs by reducing the actual number of membranes required.
The lifetime of the RO membrane is expected to greatly increase by the utilisation of new advanced filters that eliminate the need for sand cartridge filters and ensure a high quality feed water.