Subsea mooring connector specialist, First Subsea, has successfully completed the mooring of the PSVM (Plutao, Saturno, Venus and Marte) FPSO in 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) of water, in the BP Block 31 ultra deepwater development, offshore Angola.

The external turret-moored FPSO has 12 mooring lines, each with a Ballgrab Series I ball and taper subsea mooring connector, with a minimum breaking load (MBL) of 4,903kN. The female receptacle part of the Ballgrab connectors was installed subsea, mounted on docking porches on suction piles, ahead of the arrival of the PSVM FPSO. Once the production vessel was on-station, the mooring connector attached to the mooring line was lowered into the receptacle to complete the installation. The process was then repeated until all 12 mooring lines were connected.

Chris Newlands, mooring project manager, SOFEC Inc, commented: “The First Subsea team did a great job. The moorings went very smoothly; we were kept informed at every stage, ensuring each mooring was completed without a hitch.”

The double-hulled PSVM FPSO is a hub field development that will produce oil from the Plutao, Saturno, Venus and Marte fields. Comprising the northeast sector of the license about 400 kilometers (249 miles) from Luanda, PSVM is the first of four planned development projects on Block 31.