The contract to provide a rather unique fpso for the early phase of the giant LIBRA (SEN, 31/15) field, secured by Teekay and Odebrecht Oil & Gas, has attracted a good deal of attention, notably for the topside processing system.

The FEED for this unit has been carried out by Wood Group Mustang.

This floater, dubbed an early well test unit, will be based on a nearly 20-year old shuttle tanker, Navion Norwegia, which will be kitted out with a 50,000b/d process unit and will have storage of 650,000bbls.

Most of Petrobras’ floaters have processing capacity that can handle three times that capacity and storage for at least 50% more. This EWT unit will have significant compression capability - 550bar injection pressure - and will be equipped to handle this difficult wellstream with 60% of the produced gas being CO2.

There will be an external turret designed to handle at least seven lines - two oil production risers, two production umbilicals, two gas injection risers and one injection umbilical - but Teekay told SEN that it did not expect to use more than one production riser at a time.

The plan is to move the fpso every year and thus one might assume it would retain its propulsion system. That is not the case. The unit, once converted, will transit from Singapore to Brazil under its own steam, but will then have its propulsion system decommissioned.

Riser integrity is a big concern, so it is no coincidence that many big developments feature monitoring systems.

While on Petrobras, it is moving ahead with development of the TARTARUGA MESTIÇA field which will be an adjunct to Taratuga Verde (31/5) in the southern part of the Campos Basin where an fpso tender is already out. This maybe the first development in Brazil in which the federal government has a direct interest as occurs commonly in Norway.

As a result, there are very complex legal arrangements which involve PPSA, which looks after the state’s interest in fields a la Petoro in Norway.

And finally...the first topside modules for the fpso P-66, destined for LULA field, are heading for the Brasfels shipyard for integration with the hull. This is the first of six so-called ‘replicant’ floaters built for Santos Basin pre-salt area with topsides to handle 150,000b/d and 4mcm/d.

From Houston (BN): Chevron said the BIG FOOT (31/1) tlp is ready for sail-out from Kiewit’s Ingleside TX yard, but is waiting for a loop current event in the Gulf of Mexico to subside so installation can proceed. Departure was targeted for Q4, but according to Chevron, ‘these strong currents at the ocean surface...typically last one to three months. This...is particularly strong.’ The operator is monitoring conditions to allow installation once the loop current subsides. It is also doing some pre-commissioning activities normally done offshore.

Jack-St Malo (31/2) also is on track for late 4Q startup. Overall hook-up and commissioning is about 90% complete with completion of dewatering in the oil export pipeline.

From Australia (RW): Work to extend the life of the fpso Hai Yang Shi You III in the South China Sea has been accomplished without interrupting the vessel’s daily operations. A group of Acteon companies – InterMoor, Seatronics, MENCK, LM Handling, 2H Offshore and Aquatic Asia Pacific – working for COOEC carried out the work while the unit remained on station at the PANYU field in the Pearl River Mouth basin. The floater, moored in 105m, remained connected during the work.

InterMoor provided EPCM services as well as offshore personnel to install nine suction pile anchors and preset moorings for the vessel’s internal turret buoy system, a complete replacement of the mooring system. Intermoor said procedures and SIMOPS documentation were developed to allow the mooring components to be deployed less than 1.5m from the existing moorings.

InterMoor also completed a second project – to install a full single-point mooring system in the ENPING 24-2 field. This system comprised an internal turret buoy, 12 chain-sheathed spiral strand wire mooring legs, driven pile anchors, a 12in 2.45km flowline and 175m dynamic riser, two power/optical composite cables and associated power cable support structures.

AKOFS Offshore is to carry out an upgrade of its intervention vessel AKER WAYFARER at Kleven’s Myklebustverft yard in Norway with the inclusion of a module handling system to be provided by Rolls Royce that will enable installation of subsea trees, modules and structures.