Compressor order from Petrobras for Santo Basin FPSOs
A crane loads a two-stage screw compressor unit with noise control enclosure
for offshore useSix two-stage screw compressor units for six offshore oil production installations, known as FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) units, have been ordered from MAN Diesel & Turbo for Brazilian energy company Petrobras. Acting as contractor here for the first time is MAN Diesel & Turbo Brazil. Contractual partner IESA Oleo e Gas S/A also has an option for two further units.
This business model enables a high degree of local manufacturing. This was vital for the project because of the existing agreement between Petrobras and the Brazilian government to give greater consideration to domestically manufactured components in new installations. As contractor, MAN Diesel & Turbo Brazil coordinates and supervises the packaging, which is undertaken by a Brazilian partner.
Another important element in the project is the purchase of local components by MAN Diesel & Turbo Brazil, thereby ensuring that a significant proportion of the plant is “Made in Brazil.” However, the core components and the complete engineering continue to come from Oberhausen. "I am convinced that this jointly developed major order will put us in a great position to win further local projects in future," enthuses Martin Kunze, CEO of MAN Diesel & Turbo Brazil.
Each package compresses oil-associated gas in two stages, using a combination of SKUEL and CP oil-free screw compressor types, each of which represents one compression stage.
SKUEL screw-compressors are characterized by a horizontally split casing. They are able to draw in high volumetric flows at comparatively low discharge pressures. By contrast, CP-type compressors with vertically split casings can generate approximately three times higher discharge pressures, but process lower volumetric flows. A combination of the two types combines their respective advantages. The SKUEL stage pre-compresses the process gas but with increasing density its volumetric flow is reduced. The CP stage is then able to additionally increase the pressure.
In the specific application, turbo-compressors bring the gas in a further part of the process to a discharge pressure of more than 500 bar, after which it is fed back into the borehole. With the aid of MAN technology, Petrobras thereby avoids unnecessary emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), which in the past resulted from the flaring of oil-associated gases over the boreholes.
The Petrobras offshore production facility is being created approximately 300 km south-east of São Paulo in the Santos Basin of the Atlantic Ocean. The borehole itself is around 2000m below the water surface. The installation has posed a particularly tough technical challenge since, in addition to working at extreme depths, there is the added problem of a salt layer covering the oilfield.
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