THE NKOSSA CONCRETE OIL PRODUCTION BARGE

As part of the development of the NKOSSA hydrocarbon field located off the Congolese Coast, West Africa, a prestressed concrete barge will be used as the main production facility to carry the equipment for oil and gas treatment. Once operational at the NKOSSA field, the barge and its 30,000 tonnes of equipment will house 160 people, serve as control centre for the other field installations and provide oil treatment, LPG production, gas reinjection and water injection functions together with all utilities. The hull of the barge is of rectangular shape, 220m long, 46m wide and 16m high. The bottom is 45cm thick, the sides 50cm and the deck 40cm thick. High performance concrete, with a 70 MPa compressive cylinder strength is used for the construction of the hull, for both strength and durability purposes. The barge will be permanently anchored in 170m water depth by twelve 4.5" chains in group of three at each corner of the vessel.