A Concrete Oil Production Barge, Congo

As part of the development of the Nkossa hydrocarbon field 60 km off the coast of Congo in West Africa, a concrete barge will be used as the main production facility for oil and gas. Once operational, the barge will carry 30,000 t of equipment and house 80 people. The permanently anchored barge will also serve as control centre for other field installations. The Nkossa field development will consist of two fixed steel drilling platforms, the concrete production barge and two storage/loading vessels, one for oil and one for LPG. In service, the barge will provide storage for various production-related materials, but not for the hydrocarbons. An uninterrupted service life of 30 years is anticipated for the barge and moorings.