Following its 10,625nm (19,678km) voyage from China, the FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela arrived at Brazil's Brasa yard on Jan. 12 ready for the next step in its journey: bare hull and topside integration.
Conversion work was completed in China in October 2013, and the vessel then set sail for Brazil in November.
Scheduled to hit the waters by 2Q 2014, the Cidade de Ilhabela has a 20-year lease agreement in place with Petrobras, where it will work offshore Brazil in the Sapinhoá oil field, located in the Santos Basin.
Ten of the vessel’s 18 modules have been built at Brasa. Three additional modules were constructed and delivered by EBSE, a Rio-based yard acting under cooperation with SBM Offshore.
SBM said that the delivery marked two important occasions for the company: Cidade de Ilhabela is the shipyard’s first FPSO to be integrated at Brasa’s quay number two (pictured right). With topsides totaling 22,000 tonnes, the vessel will be SBM’s largest FPSO once it comes online.
SBM Offshore is currently developing four FPSOs for Brazil’s pre-salt region, the first of which is the Cidade de Ilhabela. That vessel will be used as a blueprint for the remaining Cidade de Maricá and Cidade de Saquarema, also under 20-year leases with Petrobras, the. Cidade de Paraty drew first oil at the Lula field in June 2013.
Delivery for the Cidade de Maricá is expected by year-end 2015. Cidade de Saquarema will follow directly, with completion scheduled for early 2016.
Located near Guanabara Bay in the southeast state of Rio de Janeiro, the Brasa fabrication yard is developed and operated by SBM Offshore and Synergy in a joint venture. The yard, which SBM says was completed in less than a year, features a floating crane upgraded by the operators to meet the set requirements for placing FPSO modules and equipment. SBM Offshore said that the crane’s heavy lifting capabilities “are unique to Brazil.”
Technip recently announced that it was awarded two contracts for Petrobras that included equipment to be installed on the Cidade de Ilhabela, and the supply of approximately 100km of flexible pipes for the Santos basin’s Sapinhoá Norte and Lula fields.
Partners in Block BM-S-9 in the Sapinhoá Field are Petrobras (45%), BG E&P Brasil Ltda. (30%) and Repsol Brasil SA (25%). FPSOs will be owned and operated by a joint venture company owned by SBM Offshore with other partners including Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A.(QGOG).
Subscribe
