BG Group chief executive Chris Finlayson has given further insight into the well-known delays related to the installation of Buoyancy Supported Risers (BSRs) on some of its projects offshore Brazil.

Finlayson spelled out how weather-related issues hampered installation of the BSRs on two FPSO projects in the Santos Basin operated by Petrobras and in which BG is a partner. Challenges arose initially over late delivery of the BSRS from shipyards in China, forcing installation to take place during the winter season, Finlayson said during a fourth quarter and full year results presentation.

A first BSR was delivered last October. “The first BSR…then made two or three trips to and from land because the weather deteriorated to the extent we couldn't actually start installing it,” he reported.

Installation of the first BSR on FPSO 2 began mid-November, but with a lot of delays that were “due again [to] weather interference with the installation process,” Finlayson detailed. FPSO 2 is due to reach plateau with four production wells by mid-year, he told analysts. Since that first BSR installation, work has proceeded much more smoothly, the BG chief continued. “The BSR is now clearly fully installed and we have already attached the first two steel catenary risers to BSR 1, which now only require the control lines and the jumper lines to go across from the BSR to the FPSO.”

A second BSR has been installed on FPSO 3 operating on the Lula North East field and all permanent tethers are now connected to this. FPSO 3 is now producing 60,000 boe/d from two production wells, and more are due to be connected to this facility during the second quarter of this year.

Updating progress on other fields in Brazil, BG said FPSOs 4 and 5 are due to be deployed on the Sapinhoá and Iracema fields. Both these are on budget and around 88% and 80% complete, respectively, BG stated. Both production ships are now in Brazil for topsides integration and operator Petrobras indicates both will be installed in the second half of this year.

Last December BG and Petrobras submitted a Declaration of Commerciality for the Carioca field – which is to be renamed Lapa – to Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency (ANP). First oil from that project is forecast for 2016.
This year BG indicates it will pursue its policy of reducing the average time taken to drill development wells to total depth to 56 days from 69 days in 2012. A total of 44 production and injection wells have been drilled in Brazil for six FPSOs so far.

Furthermore BG stated four other exploration areas – Abaré, Abaré Oeste, Iguaçu and Iguaçu-Mirim – have been relinquished to the ANP.

In the same results statement BG confirmed that the Mzia discovery offshore Tanzania was a second major gas find, after Jodari, with 4.7 Tcf of total gross recoverable resources. Discoveries in blocks 1, 3 and 4 offshore east Africa’s Tanzania now amount to a total of 15 Tcf of gas.