Petrobras’ P-69 Hull Arrives In Brazil To Complete Construction

The hull of Petrobras’ massive P-69 FPSO, built in China, arrived at the Brasfels shipyard in Angra dos Reis on March 28 for final assembly.

When complete and operating in depths of 2,200 m (7,218 ft) in the Lula Field, the 288-m-long (945 ft), 54-m-wide (177 ft) and 31.5-m-tall (103 ft) platform will have a processing capacity of 150,000 bbl/d of oil and 6 MMcm (2.2 Bcf) of natural gas. Storage capacity will be 1.6 MMbbl of oil.

Brasfels, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, will install 18 modules on the hull, ensure that all equipment is interconnected and commission the operating systems.

P-69 is expected to begin operations in the Far South Lula module, Santos Basin pre-sale, in 2018. The field is operated and 65% owned by Petrobras, in partnership with Royal Dutch Shell Plc subsidiary BG E&P Brasil (25%) and Petrogal Brasil (10%).

TMC Delivers Compressed Air System For Catcher FPSO

Oslo-based Tamrotor Marine Compressors AS (TMC) has completed delivery of a marine compressed air system to BW Offshore’s Catcher FPSO for operations in the U.K. North Sea.

“This is an impressive FPSO project, which I believe most suppliers would have liked to be part of,” said Per Kjellin, managing director of TMC. “We have delivered numerous compressor systems to the BW Group’s vessels over the years, so we are very familiar with the high standards they expect. Our cooperation with IHI have also contributed toward our successful on-time delivery to this FPSO.”

Catcher is undergoing mechanical completion and commissioning at the Keppel yard in Singapore, which has also integrated the topside modules. IHI Corp. has earlier designed, built, equipped and completed the FPSO unit’s hull with accommodation, helideck and parts of the turret mooring system at its Aichi Works in Japan.

BW Offshore will operate Catcher on a contract with Premier Oil at its Catcher oil field. The FPSO unit has a processing capacity of 60 Mbbl/d and a storage capacity of 650 Mbbl. The Catcher Area development is 180 km (112 miles) east of Aberdeen, and includes the Catcher, Varadero and Burgman oil and gas fields.

Wood Group Renews, Extends North Sea Contract With Premier Oil

Wood Group has been awarded a $50 million contract with Premier Oil to deliver topside operations and maintenance services for the Balmoral floating production vessel (FPV) in the Central North Sea and the Solan installation, West of Shetland, according to a news release.

The two-year contract has three one-year extension options. Wood Group has provided operations, maintenance and engineering services for the Balmoral FPV since 2012 as well as fabric maintenance services for the vessel as part of a different contract held since 2014. The latest contract adds services for the Solan Field, which stared production in April 2016.

“We have consistently and successfully assured the management of safety and integrity and applied our innovation and technical expertise to maximize uptime and production, whilst also reducing field lift costs,” said Dave Stewart, CEO of Wood Group’s Asset Life Cycle Solutions business in the eastern region. This will be our continued focus, leveraging both our late life asset management expertise and production enhancing technical solutions as we continue to collaborate with Premier Oil on the safe and effective delivery of this latest contract.”

— Staff Reports

Offshore