Pem 43 supports a riser 60 metres below water
The largest plastic buoy ever made in the world has been successfully installed in record time. It is the PEM 43, a gigantic buoy 4.3 metres diameter and 10 metres in height, commissioned by the Norvegian offshore oil engineering company, Ugland, and shipped from the Iseo factory in the summer 1991. The PEM 43 was loaded on board a Norway-bound ship in the port of Genoa, and after thousands of kilometres over land sea it reached the Statfjiord B drilling field of Statoil, the Norwegian oil company, in August. It was laid at a depht of 60 metres where it supports a 146 metres loading line comprising a 19-inch flexible riser supplied by the French company Coflexip.
Designed to operate for at least 30 years, this system is a real novelty in loading systems. It can be easily utilized by tankers which do not require mooring points. Built of modular units with a steel bearing structure, the PEM 43 replaces more expensive systems (using surface buoys) and eliminates the risk of collision or other incoveniences during operation.
