Norwegian oil firm Equinor has awarded the three largest oilfield services firms, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and Schlumberger, contracts for drilling and well services on its Bacalhau field in Brazil.
The total value of the three contracts is estimated at $455 million. The contracts have a firm period of 4 years and two 2-year options.
The Bacalhau field, operated by Equinor, on behalf of the partners ExxonMobil and Petrogal Brasil, will be the first greenfield development in the pre-salt operated by an international operator.
Located 185 km from the coast of the municipality of Ilhabela/SP, in the state of São Paulo, in water depths of 2050 meters, the project will in the first phase produce 220,000 bbls/d.
Commenting on the drilling and well services contracts, Peggy Krantz-Underland, Equinor’s chief procurement officer said:"The awards build further on our positive cooperation experience with the three selected suppliers in our projects worldwide. They will be essential to ensure safe and efficient drilling and well operations on the Bacalhau field.
The contract scope awarded to Baker Hughes covers drilling services and completion. Halliburton’s scope of work will include intervention services and liner hanger, while Schlumberger will deliver wireline services.
According to Equinor, the awards are expected to make a significant contribution to local content in Brazil. The average local content of the three contracts, considering the majority of services will be performed in Brazil, is estimated at 74%.
“Brazil is a core area for Equinor, and Bacalhau is an important asset in the Brazilian pre-salt Santos area. Together with our partners, we are currently maturing the project towards a final investment decision (FID) which is planned in 2021,” says Trond Bokn, acting senior vice president for project development in Equinor.
Earlier this year, Equinor entered into front end engineering and design (FEED) contracts with early commitments and pre-investments for the Bacalhau field with MODEC for FPSO and Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) for SURF.
The awards have an option for the execution phase under a lump sum turnkey contract setup which includes engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for the entire SURF and FPSO scopes. First oil production is planned in 2024