MDL to Support Maersk Supply Service for Work at Mero Field Off Brazil

Maersk Supply Service has awarded Scottish flex-lay specialist Maritime Developments (MDL) a solution-development scope in the Mero block in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.

The scope entails the development of an integrated spread of equipment and expert personnel to support installation of a dynamic riser assembly, which will enable connection to a grid of  Permanent Reservoir Monitoring (PRM) sensors over wells of Mero 1 and Mero 2 projects in the basin’s ultra-deep waters.

Besides the dynamic cable riser, complete with DUTA and pigtails, the PRM network also consists of backbone cables and over 650km of seismic array cables.

To support Maersk Supply Service, MDL will supply a horizontal SURF lay spread onto an MSS I-Class vessel, with the installation campaign planned for 2025.

Prior to this award, MDL had been commissioned to undertake a FEED study to assess the feasibility of installation of the unique product in the PRM network, with the umbilical, DUTA and pigtails being supplied pre-connected - meaning that the 5 pigtail lines must be installed simultaneously.

 “As a result of completing the FEED, MDL had an intimate knowledge of the project and the challenges faced by Maersk Supply Service, and we were therefore best placed to hit the ground running with the most achievable approaches within the client’s timescales.

“Having performed the study, we appreciated the substantial challenge of a parallel installation of five pigtails, a dynamic umbilical and DUTA, supplied as a continuous product from a single reel,” said Alexander Wilson, MDL Flexlay Solutions Unit Lead.

 “The installation of the dynamic riser in conjunction with DUTA and pigtails contains technical and operational challenges that can only be overcome with an effectively designed and integrated lay system. Maersk Supply Service was able to build a collaborative partnership with MDL that gives us confidence that project will be delivered successfully,” said Alexandre Ferraz, Country Manager for Maersk Supply Service Brazil.

The operation of the Mero field is conducted by the Libra Consortium, operated by Petrobras (38.6%), in partnership with Shell Brasil (19.3%), TotalEnergies (19.3%), CNPC (9.65%), CNOOC (9.65%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A (PPSA) (3.5%), as the Brazilian Government's representative in the non-contracted area.