SIAD MI delivers vapor recovery compressor

SIAD Macchine Impianti (SIAD MI) recently completed the construction of a vapor recovery unit compressor to be installed on the motor vessel Firenze floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel owned by Eni.

The compressor, model TS3-1, was supplied to Saipem, an engineering and construction services provider with distinctive expertise in the design and execution of large-scale offshore and onshore projects, compresses hydrocarbons with mild traces of H2S (hydrogen sulfide).

Its design required a very high degree of customization because of the special installation conditions and cramped spaces of the FPSO. SIAD MI engineers had to adopt ad hoc solutions, ensuring, among other things, the careful selection of materials and paints suitable for the marine environment. In addition, to make the package even more compact and to cope with the installation in a hazardous area, a pressurized electrical cabinet was mounted on the compressor base.

Despite the technical complexity of the order, the project was completed in record time. Less than 7 months passed from the awarding of the order to the completion of the compressor, and the contractual date scheduled for its delivery was brought forward by one month.

Within this time frame, the machine also successfully passed the supervision test by a third party body that issued a certification of suitability for the purpose of supply in the marine environment.

To ensure the optimal customer experience and ongoing support, SIAD MI engineers not only followed the construction and delivery phases of the compressor, but will also supervise its installation inside the ship, SIAD MI said.

The ship is being refurbished after more than 10 years of service in Italy (in the Aquila field.) After it is refurbished, it will operate in Africa, off the Ivory Coast. There are already five other SIAD MI compressors fully operational since 2010. The Global Service Division is currently carrying out a refurbishment intervention on 4 of these 5 compression units which concerns specifically:

• A Stripping Fuel Gas Booster Compressor Package used to increase the operating pressure of certain atmospheric gaseous streams enabling them for re-use as a main fuel gas source.
• A Fuel Gas Compressor Package used for fuel gas compression in order to send the compressed gas to the turbine.

This intervention, which includes the refurbishment of valves, cylinders and pipes plus the recalibration of the instrumentation, will be completed by March 2023. In addition to the refurbishing activities, the SIAD MI’s Global Service Division is working to revamp the units in response to new production requirements from the customer.