Santos Basin News

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Brazil’s state-owned energy giant Petrobras have signed a charter contract for cargo transfer vessel (CTV) SeaLoader 2, and agreed to start negotiations for a new CTV shipbuilding contract by the end of 2024.MOL signed the deal through its wholly owned subsidiary, SeaLoading Holding, which owns and operates CTVs.SeaLoading started a CTV agreement with Petrobras for SeaLoader 2 on a trial period in January 2022, and successfully completed more than 30 crude oil offloading operations from Petrobras' FPSOs located in the Santos Basin…

Energy and marine consultancy ABL Group has secured a contract by POSH Projects to act as tow master to support and supervise the towage of the Mero 3 FPSO from Yantai in China to Brazilian waters.As part of its scope of work, ABL’s operations in Singapore will provide a tow master to act as client representative throughout the 12,108 nautical mile towage.The tow master will supervise and ensure that all marine operations for the sail away from Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard are carried out in-line with approved recommendations and procedural documentation.

The first hybrid Platform Supply Vessel (PSV), which uses batteries and diesel for propulsion, has started operating for Equinor in Brazil.With the battery bank installed, the PSV is able to operate with hybrid propulsion, switching between the use of electricity and diesel. This is expected to reduce emissions by up to 40% during vessel’s activities.The PSV will be part of the logistics of the Bacalhau field, in the Santos Basin, where Equinor has a majority stake secured in…

Yinson Production officially named its latest addition to the fleet, FPSO Atlanta, during a naming ceremony held at Dubai Drydocks World on December 13, 2023.FPSO Atlanta has a production capacity of 50,000 BOPD and a maximum storage capacity of 1,251,000 bbls. It will feature a carbon management process plant, which uses fuel gas for cargo tank inertization that will significantly reduce flare gas emissions through a closed flare system.Yinson Production and Enauta entered into…

Brazilian oil and gas company Enauta, the operator of the Atlanta field in Santos Basin. offshore Brazil, has started the anchoring campaign for the FPSO Atlanta, which is expected to start production in 2024.This marks the start of installation works on what is called Atlanta’s Phase I, which will bring a larger capacity FPSO to the field that has so far been producing oil via the Petrojarl I FPSO."[The anchoring ] stage consists of installing flexible riser anchors and torpedo anchors for the new [FPSO].

Norwegian offshore support vessel firm DOF said Monday it had won three new service contracts with the Brazilian oil firm Petrobras."The contracts were originated by a competitive bid process won by DOF and include work within our core service lines for Survey and Inspection," DOF said.These contracts represent a continuation of the services handled by DOF on the PIDF123 contracts signed with Petrobras in 2020 and under operation since December of that year.According to DOF, at least three vessels will be deployed to perform flexible pipeline, risers, and subsea equipment inspection in Campos Basin, Santos Basin, and Espírito Santos Basin. More than 3,200 inspections are expected to be executed.DOF did not say which vessel exactly would be deployed for these projects.

The Brazil-bound FPSO Sepetiba sailed away from the BOMESC shipyard in China on June 16, 2023, following completion of the topsides integration and onshore commissioning phases.The unit—SBM Offshore’s third Fast4Ward FPSO—is transiting to the Mero field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil, located 180 kilometers offshore Rio de Janeiro. SBM Offshore has a contract with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for the 22.5 years lease and operation of FPSO Sepetiba. First oil is expected in the second half of 2023.The FPSO will have the capacity to produce up to 180…

Danish offshore vessel owner Maersk Supply Service said Thursday it had signed an assignment agreement with TechnipFMC for work in Brazil.The scope covers the pre-installation of the mooring system and hook-up of the FPSO P-78. The FPSO P-78 will be the seventh FPSO in the Búzios field, located in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.According to Maersk Supply Service, the project will be carried out over nearly two years, with onshore work  - including engineering, procurement,…

Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz (EJA), a Brazilian subsidiary of Singapore's Sembcorp Marine, has completed the construction of the P-71 FPSO, integrating topsides on the China-built hull.The new FPSO vessel left the EJA shipyard on Tuesday. It will be deployed at Petrobras' ultra-deepwater Itapu field in Brazil’s Santos Basin. When operational, the P-71 will produce up to 150,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD).The P-71 measures 316m by 54m and can store 1.6 million barrels. The FPSO can accommodate 166 people.Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz's P-71 work scope included the construction of six modules…

Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras has ordered a floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel from Singapore's Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters.The FPSO, named P-82, will be deployed at the giant Búzios oil field, in the Santos Basin pre-salt area, offshore Brazil.Worth US$3.05 billion (S$4.25 billion) the P-82 is the largest contract secured by Sembcorp Marine from PetrobrasThe P-82 will have the capacity to produce up to 225 thousand barrels of oil per day, process up to 12 million m³of  gas per day, and store more than 1.6 million barrels.

Heavy lift shipping and offshore transport and installation contractor Jumbo Offshore reports it has executed the transport and installation of a torpedo pile mooring system, including mooring for flexible risers, umbilical for the Libra Consortium's Guanabara floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO). While this type of installation previously required the mobilization of up to three anchor handling tugs, Jumbo carried out the entire contract using only its J-class offshore installation vessel Fairplayer…

Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has exercised an option to extend the contract for Solstad Offshore's Normand Ferking AHTS vessel for one more year to November 2023.Equinor has the option to extend the contract for a further one year after the expiration of the current contract. Normand Ferking has been on contract with Equinor since 2007 and will continue to support Equinor's activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Japanese FPSO leasing company MODEC said Wednesday that the FPSO Almirante Barroso MV32 had started its navigation towards Brazil last Sunday. The FPSO is bound for deployment at Petrobras' Búzios deepwater oil field.The FPSO left the Cosco shipyard in China on Sunday, July 17. It will carry out navigation tests for five days in the Chinese waters, then make stops in Singapore and Mauritius, where it will supply and change the crew, before arriving in Brazil at the BrasFELs shipyard…

UAE-based shipyard Drydocks World has signed a contract with Norway-based Kanfa to deliver a topside module for a floating production storage and offloading vessel.In what will be the first collaboration between Drydocks World and Kanfa, the M10 module will be placed on the main deck of the FPSO.The module will be used to process crude oil received from oil wells, which will be dewatered and stabilised to meet export quality specifications. Weighing approximately 700 tons, the process module is scheduled for delivery in Q2 2023.Kanfa…

Italian oilfield services firm Saipem has confirmed it has recently been awarded a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) by BW Offshore, for the early-stage engineering services for the supply of an FPSO unit to be supplied to Shell for the development of the Gato do Mato field offshore Brazil.The oil and gas field is located around 200 km offshore Brazil in the Santos Basin, in water depths of around 2,000 meters.The LNTP is valued at up to $50 million. Saipem’s share is worth approximately $25 million.Upon completion of the LNTP…

The FPSO Atlanta, contracted by the Brazilian oil company Enauta to Malaysia's Yinson for conversion to service the Atlanta Field offshore Brazil, will be operated under ABS Class.The Atlanta, which will serve as the Definity Production System at the Atlanta Field in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, is being converted in Dubai Drydocks World, including structural upgrades, refurbishment and enhancement of equipment, will have a production capacity of 50,000 BOPD, 12.4 MMscfd gas and a storage capacity of 1,800,000 bbl.

Malaysian FPSO contractor Yinson has signed a Letter of Intent with the Brazilian oil company Enauta Energia for the provision, operation, and maintenance of an FPSO at Enauta's Atlanta field in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.Enauta has been producing oil from the field using the FPSO Petrojarl I as an Early Production System, and has been looking to deploy another FPSO at the field for full-field development.The oil company and the Malaysian FPSO supplier had in August signed…

The Guanabara FPSO has arrived at the Mero field in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, the Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras has informed.The FPSO, also known as Mero 1, will be the first 'definitive' oil production system at the Mero field, the third largest pre-salt field behind Búzios and Tupi. MODEC is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, mobilization, installation and operation of the FPSO, including topsides processing equipment as well as hull and marine systems.

Brazilian oil company Enauta has agreed to buy FPSO OSX-2 for the Definitive System (DS) of the Atlanta oil field in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.The completion of the acquisition is contingent on compliance with the agreed contractual conditions and is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2022. "The acquisition of FPSO is another important step towards the implementation of the Definitive System of the Atlanta Field. The negotiated terms allow the project to have a low breakeven and attractive returns. If we are successful in sanctioning the project, Atlanta’s production will reach around 50 thousand barrels of oil per day as of 2024, creating substantial value for our shareholders,” said Décio Oddone, the Company’s CEO.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Eidesvik Offshore has won a contract with the seismic survey company PXGEO under the master time charter agreement for the Subsea Viking vessel. Ediesvik said that the contract would start "ultimo April 2022," in direct continuation of the existing stand-by contract. No financial details were shared.The firm period is 100 days with options for extensions. According to MarineTraffic, the vessel is currently docked in Høylandsbygd, Norway.The 1999-built…

Oil and gas production has started from FPSO Guanabara offshore Brazil, the first definitive production system installed in the Petrobras-operated Mero field, in the Santos Basin pre-salt. Three more FPSOs are planned for deployment at the Mero field.The Mero field has been in pre-production since 2017 with the 50,000 barrels of oil per day Pioneiro de Libra FPSO.The Guanabara FPSO is capable of processing up to 180 thousand barrels of oil and 12 million m3 of gas, which represents 6% of the production operated by Petrobras…

According to Rystad Energy research, the market for floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units almost brushed off the pandemic's effect in 2021, driven mostly by Brazil demand, and is predicted to continue apace in 2022, with 10 new awards expected.Two lease contracts were awarded in the fourth quarter of 2021, bringing the total for the year to 10 – up from just three in 2020 – a strong rebound for the FPSO market.Per Rystad, demand for FPSO units in Brazil was a significant contributing factor that drove 2021 growth…

Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine said Wednesday it had secured contracts worth around S$250 million (~$186 million) for the conversion of a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), integration of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, and the "jumboisation" of two Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD).For the first contract, Keppel Shipyard has received the Final Notice to Proceed (FNTP) from GAS-fifteen Ltd, a  GasLog Carriers subsidiary, for the conversion of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Carrier into an FSRU.