Brazil’s oil company Petrobras on Monday signed an agreement for the conversion of four VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) vessels into the hulls of the future P-74, P-75, P-76, and P-77 Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, which will operate in the Santos Basin pre-salt.
The total value of the contract is estimated at USD 1.7 billion. The works will be done at the Inhaúma Shipyard, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which was leased by Petrobras and is being refurbished to meet the Company’s needs.
The agreement was signed with the consortium formed by the construction companies Norberto Odebrecht S/A, OAS Ltda and UTC Engenharia S/A. The works should meet a domestic content of 70%, creating approximately 4,000 direct jobs at the peak of the activities.
Conversion works are scheduled to start in June. The first unit in the series is platform P-74 and the vessel is already docked at the Port of Rio de Janeiro, with completion of the hull conversion expected for March 2014. Completion of the P-75 hull conversion is scheduled for October 2014, while completion for the P-76 and P-77 platforms are scheduled for 2015.
Each platform will have the capacity of producing up to 150,000 barrels of oil and compressing 7 million cubic meters of gas per day. They are expected to operate at the Franco and Tupi Northeast prospects, both located in the Santos Basin pre-salt
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, May 11, 2012; Image: Petrobras