FPSO Petrojarl Foinaven

A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the production and processing of hydrocarbons, and for the storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced by itself or from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it can be offloaded onto a tanker or, less frequently, transported through a pipeline.

The Foinaven field is located roughly 120 miles west of Shetland, in waters too deep for a conventional platform. The ship started life as a Soviet submarine tender but underwent an extensive rebuild to serve as an FPSO. Her length was increased to 252 metres by joining the existing bow and stern to a new 142 metre long centre section.

Cutaway illustration commissioned by Transmission AS of Oslo.