FMC Loading Systems - Loading Systems for Offshore Applications

As fluid transfer technologies become more complex, FMC Loading Systems remains the industry technical and commercial leader providing innovative designs, systems, packages and services to the oil, gas, petrochemical and chemical industries.

FMC capabilities include:

• Loading systems for sea going tankers, barges, truck and railcars handling petroleum products, chemical products and liquefied gases. Their diameters range from 2in to 24in weighing up to 100t
• Piggable loading systems for offshore and onshore applications to reduce turnaround time or for installations handling multiple products through common lines resulting in cost savings, space and product waste
• A dedicated After Sales and Service organization supported by FMC trained personnel to assist customers in developing comprehensive installation, maintenance and service plans: repair/rebuild, retrofits and upgrades, genuine spare parts, commissioning, preventive maintenance and training programs

With more than 40 years experience worldwide in fluid transfer, FMC Loading Systems is able to implement: integrated packages, designed and ready to operate, incorporating, but not limited to loading arms, metering systems, process control systems, all supplied by FMC companies.

MARINE TERMINALS

FMC Loading Systems was the originator of the innovative all metal systems for the transfer of liquid cargo. Since then, FMC Loading Systems has remained the market leader throughout the world for the development of theses systems for liquid and gas transfer at ambient, elevated and cryogenic temperatures. FMC Chiksan® Marine Loading Systems meet all your specific loading/unloading requirements regardless of the viscosity or temperature of the liquid, from liquid sulphur to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and from either river barges or the largest crude oil tankers.

LNG ONSHORE/OFFSHORE MARINE TERMINALS

The LNG market is undergoing a major resurgence of activity both onshore and offshore. The tremendous expansion of LNG over the last ten years has been mainly driven by environmental considerations, cost gains made in combined cycle electric power plants and the very high degree of safety that the LNG industry as a whole has enjoyed.

FMC's contribution has been the Chiksan all metal LNG Marine Loading Arms installed since 1963 in the four corners of the world on conventional jetties or exposed locations and the continuous investment in Research and Development.

The experience FMC has gained since 1963 lead to consider different offloading concepts:

• Conventional onshore jetties with LNG Marine Loading Arms
• Offshore LNG plant on a gravity structure with offloading carried out using Chiksan LNG Marine Loading Arms
• Ship to Ship transfer between an LNG carrier and a Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit (FPSO) or a Floating Storage Unit (FSU) using Chiksan LNG Marine Loading Arms designed for significant wave heights of up to 4.0m
• Tandem loading between a dedicated LNG carrier and a FPSO or FSU using an FMC Boom To Tanker required for severe sea conditions. The first Boom to Tanker system has been used at Brunei LNG for 23 years with no LNG shipment missed – stern loading. The FMC Boom to Tanker system is designed for up to 5.0m wave heights

To meet the requirements at offshore loading units or at exposed locations, FMC Loading Systems have developed Chiksan Constant Motion LNG swivel joints, which take into consideration not only the design parameters but also the sea and wind conditions, the carrier movement and the terminal parameters.

To meet operational requirements and enhance the safety of the LNG terminal, FMC Loading Systems incorporate field proven safety components such as:

• Emergency Release Systems with "no-spill" feature that reduce the amount of LNG spilled by 80% in case of an emergency
• A Position Monitoring System (PMS) to continuously monitor the position of the LNG carrier once it is moored and the loading systems connected

IN SITU MAINTENANCE

All the FMC Systems to offload LNG have been designed for in situ maintenance of the hydraulic/electric logic control system, the hydraulic drive systems, the Emergency Release System, the hydraulic Quick Connect/Disconnect Couplers (QC/DC) and the Chiksan swivel joints. Experience has shown that downtime of the equipment has been all but eliminated as preventive maintenance is carried out between offloading.

FMC Technologies SA is a member of FMC Technologies’ Energy Systems Group comprising Energy Production and Energy Processing.