Asia's first cylindrical floating production, storage, and offloading device, designed and constructed by China, embarked on its maiden voyage in Qingdao West Coast New Area. [Photo/IC]

Asia's first cylindrical floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, designed and built by China, started operating on May 12 in Qingdao West Coast New Area, Shandong province.

This FPSO facility Haikui 1, with a maximum oil storage capacity of 60,000 metric tons, consists of nearly 600,000 components. It is designed to operate continuously offshore for 15 years without docking and has a lifespan of 30 years. The facility will be utilized in China's first deepwater oilfield, Liuhua 11-1.

Haikui 1's main deck is 90 meters in diameter and almost 30 floors high. The groundbreaking piece of technology not only handles crude oil production, storage, and export but also boasts integrated marine monitoring systems, data platforms, and mechanical equipment health management systems, making it a globally-pioneering solution.

Upon its launch, Haikui 1 will journey more than 1200 nautical miles to reach the installation site in the Pearl River Mouth Basin sea area. Positioned at a depth of 324 meters, it will be anchored in place by 12 mooring cables up to 2570 meters long each. It has the capacity to process about 5,600 tons of crude oil per day.