Type:
Gas
Facility:
Production
Water Depth:
90
Installed:
2019
meters
Block:
22/25a
Design:
Floating steel
Sub Structure:
100000
Topsides Wgt:
1000
tonnes
tonnes
Intro
Ailsa is a permanently moored Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel located west of Shetland, serving the Solan oil field in UK Block 205/26. Installed in 2016, it receives stabilized crude oil from the Solan platform for storage and offloading to shuttle tankers. The vessel has no drilling or production capability and operates as a dedicated export facility.
Field
The Solan field lies in the West of Shetland area within the Faroe–Shetland Basin. It produces oil from Lower Cretaceous sandstone reservoirs. Due to its remote location and harsh environment, the field was developed using a fixed platform with offshore storage and shuttle tanker export rather than pipeline export.
Facilities
The Ailsa FSO functions solely as a crude oil storage and export unit. Stabilized oil is transferred from the Solan platform via a dedicated pipeline and riser system into segregated cargo tanks. The vessel is permanently moored and designed to withstand severe metocean conditions typical of the West of Shetland region. Facilities include cargo pumps, crude oil circulation and heating systems, inert gas systems, and custody transfer metering for tanker offloading. Offloading is carried out in tandem to shuttle tankers using flexible hoses. Marine systems include ballast control, bilge systems, dynamic positioning assistance during offloading, and navigation aids. Safety systems comprise fire and gas detection, fixed firefighting systems, and emergency shutdown interfaces with the Solan platform. The FSO does not process hydrocarbons and does not handle produced water or gas beyond basic storage conditioning.
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