BS has been awarded the class contract for the Agbami floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

ABS will class the Star Deep Water Petroleum Ltd. (an affiliate of Chevron Corp.) newbuild unit as XA1 Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit which includes review of the FPSO hull structure, topsides, processing equipment, mooring systems, utility and safety systems as well as accommodations and the offloading systems.

The integration of the topside structure with the hull structure is critical. The 13 topsides modules will weigh about 35,000 tons requiring close review of the loads as well as calculations for the hull’s strength and fatigue assessment.

ABS will employ its advanced design and analysis tool, SafeHull, to review the overall design of the Agbami and also provide dynamic loading analysis (DLA) simulations. SafeHull significantly improves the overall level of safety and reliability for the hull structure by applying the maximum, yet realistic dynamic loads to all major structural members. In its class review ABS will be employing a risk-based approach to the topside processing systems. A dedicated team of ABS engineers in offices in Houston, Texas, and Busan, Korea will support the Agbami project. The FPSO is destined for offshore Nigeria with first oil targeted in early 2008 with a daily production rate of about 250,000 barrels of oil.