Abstract
FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading) units have been considered one of the most efficient alternatives to produce oil and gas in deep waters. To perform this application, FPSOs have various systems and equipment that require cooling. Currently, this cooling is carried out through a closed circuit of industrial fluid cooled by an open circuit with seawater. This paper presents a new concept for the cooling system of these production units causing the closed-circuit cooling system using industrial fluid to be cooled through the contact of this fluid with the hull side/bottom shell and thus dissipating heat into seawater. In this way, there is no need to install the seawater lift system for cooling, reducing the footprint, and the structural reinforcement on the FPSO. In addition to increasing the platform's energy efficiency by reducing fuel consumption, this new cooling system concept mitigates the environmental impact of offshore production by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and the pollution of the oceans with biocide. As this new concept was recently debuted, its application studies are still in the conceptual design phase.
