FMC Technologies has been awarded an important world-first contract to provide Petrobras with a subsea system capable of processing heavy crude in the Campos Basin Marlim field offshore Brazil.
The deal is worth about $90million to FMC Technologies.
The scope of supply consists of a subsea separation and pumping system. The subsea separation module will separate heavy oil, gas, sand and water at a water depth of about 900m (2,950ft).
It will apply FMC’s separation and sand management technologies utilising a novel pipe separator design licensed and developed in co-operation with StatoilHydro.
This is said to be the first deepwater deployment of subsea separation technologies in a mature field, and the first separation of heavy oil and water in a subsea environment in the world.
It will also be the first separation system to include subsea re-injection of water into a reservoir to boost production.
The equipment will be jointly engineered between FMC’s operations in Brazil, Norway and The Netherlands.
Final manufacturing and integration activities will be performed at the company’s Rio de Janeiro facility, with deliveries projected to begin in 2011.
“Marlim is the fifth field in the world that will utilise FMC’s subsea separation technologies,” said Tore Halvorsen, senior VP of global subsea production systems at FMC in Norway.
“The project will enable a broader application of our separation technologies for future subsea processing opportunities. We look forward to supporting Petrobras in the development of this exciting project.”