Petrobras has issued a letter of intent to Modec and the Schahin Group for the supply, charter, and operation of a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO) for the Lula-Iracema area of block BM-S-11 offshore Brazil.
This will bring the number of production ships provided to the Brazilian oil company to nine and the third link-up for Schahin.
Together, they are responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, mobilisation, installation, and operation of the FPSO, including topsides processing equipment as well as hull and marine systems.
Sofec, a subsidiary of Modec, will design and provide the spread mooring.
The VLCC (very large crude carrier) Alga has been selected for the project. When the conversion is complete, the former trading tanker will emerge as the FPSO Cidade de Itaguai MV26.
It will be capable of processing 150,000 barrels of oil and 280million cu.ft per day and be capable of storing 1.6million barrels of oil plus other fluids.
Delivery and installation in the pre-salt Lula-Iracema North area is scheduled for Q4 2015.
Modec presently operates the following vessels: FPSO Fluminense, Cidade de Rio de Janeiro MV14, FSO (floating storage unit) Cidade de Macae MV15, FPSO Cidade de Niteroi MV18, Cidade de Santos MV20, and the Cidade de Angra dos Reis MV22.
The Cidade de Sao Paulo MV23 is currently being installed offshore and the Cidade de Mangaratiba MV24 is in build and due for installation offshore during Q3 2014.
The Cidade de Sao Paulo is being installed in the Sapinhoa field on block BM-S-9.
The former VLCC’s hull was stripped and prepared for fitting out by the Cosco shipyard in China. Module installation, assembly, and integration work started early this year and was carried out entirely at Brasfels, in Angra dos Reis, Brazil.
First oil production from Sapinhoa is expected for January 2013, when it will be connected to the first well.
The remaining wells, a total of six production wells and five injectors, will then be tied in.
This FPSO will be capable of producing 120,000 barrels of oil and 176.6million cu.ft of gas per day.
It is the first production vessel to be installed in the Sapinhoa field. It is to be joined in 2014 by the unit currently being converted.
A second FPSO yet another production unit to come onstream in the second half of 2014. That unit, FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela, has already been contracted and is currently being converted.