Potable and process water is to be supplied to a gas field north of Australia by ship-mounted seawater reverse-osmosis (RO) plants supplied by Adelaide-based desalination specialist Osmosflo.
South Korean conglomerates Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineers and Samsung Heavy Industries selected Osmoflo to supply crews involved in the recovery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrocarbons from the Ichthys field in the Timor Sea.
Two vessels are currently under construction in South Korean yards. On one Osmoflo will provide a single-pass RO plant consisting of two 100 m³/d) trains which will process seawater to potable standard. Further treatment including remineralisation, ultra violet (UV) sterilisation and non-regenerable mixed-bed resin conditioning will provide high-purity process water which will be used to clean generator turbine blades.
The second ship will have a two-pass RO system in two 150 m³/d trains to process seawater for potable requirements.
Both plants are being constructed at Osmoflo’s main facility in Burton will be of robust design and will be configured to meet stringent oil and gas industry, marine and environmental requirements. They will be fitted and commissioned before the vessels leave the shipyards.
The ships will be permanently moored at a location some 440 km north of Broome and 800 km from Darwin. The first will partially process recovered gas to remove water, raw liquids and condensate prior its transportation by pipeline to an on-shore processing facility at Blaydon Point, Darwin.
Condensate and other liquids will be transferred to the second vessel for further processing and subsequent transfer by tanker to a refinery. While the vessels are on station, Osmoflo will provide continuing operations and maintenance support.
Osmoflo has previous experience in ship-mounted reverse-osmosis desalination. At one stage during the construction of an LNG processing facility at Barrow Island – part of the Gorgon project – Osmoflo provided a plant mounted on the deck of an oil-rig supply vessel which dealt with a temporary spike in desalinated water requirements.