Relatchable Bend Stiffener Connector for Gina Krog FSO
First Subsea BSC ready for deployment on Statoil’s Gina Krog FSO. (Photo: Gina Krog)
Subsea connector specialist, First Subsea, has supplied a relatchable bend stiffener connector to NOV Completion & Production Solutions for a flexible production riser for Statoil’s Gina Krog, turret moored, Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
The API 17L-1 compliant, Type II bend stiffener connector (BSC) comprises a ball and taper connector attached to a bend stiffener, which is pulled into a pre-machined, compact J-tube built into the turret. During pull-in the end fitting is fixed to the male BSC, once locked into the receptacle, the end fitting is detached, allowing the end fitting and 9” production riser to slide up into the J-tube.
First Subsea bend stiffener connectors are certified as Load Transfer Devices under API 17L1, setting a new benchmark for the performance of bend stiffener connectors in challenging and harsh offshore applications.
The Type II connector is self-energizing and self-aligning, and features First Subsea’s Automatic Release Clamp (ARC) enabling both diverless and ROVless riser and umbilical connections. For the Gina Krog project, the Type II connector also features a Re-Connect System (RCS) allowing the end fitting to be delatched and the riser uninstalled and reconnected again as necessary.
February 2024
