Fugro rolls in Jumbo’s positioning contract for Mero 1 offshore Brazil

April 21, 2021, by Amir Garanovic

Dutch survey contractor Fugro has secured positioning and construction support services job for offshore installation contractor Jumbo Maritime on the Mero 1 deepwater field development offshore Brazil.

Fairplayer vessel's mobilisation for Mero 1 (Courtesy of Jumbo Maritime)

Photo of Fairplayer vessel's mobilisation for Mero 1 (Courtesy of Jumbo Maritime) — Fairplayer vessel’s mobilisation for Mero 1 (Courtesy of Jumbo Maritime)

Using its navigation suite and augmented reality camera system, Fugro is supporting Jumbo for the installation of 35 subsea torpedo piles and 24 mooring lines down to water depths of 1980 metres.

The infrastructure will be used to anchor the Mero 1 floating production unit and associated equipment, according to Fugro.

The work is being performed onboard Jumbo’s Fairplayer heavy lift crane vessel and is estimated to last six months.

In addition to pre- and post-lay surveys of the piles and mooring lines, Fugro’s navigation and augmented reality camera solutions will provide real-time positioning for subsea construction and installation activities without needing any hardware mounted on the subsea infrastructure, Fugro said.

According to the company, this approach reduces risk, increases spatial awareness and streamlines workflows.

Rogerio Carvalho, country manager for Fugro in Brazil, said: “Fugro’s global reach and advanced technology, combined with our resources and experience from the Netherlands and Brazil, were key to securing this contract. Having overcome many challenges in planning the operations for this project amid the constraints caused by Covid-19, we’re excited to now be supporting Jumbo on this important deepwater development”.

Located approximately 180 kilometres off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Mero field is under a production sharing agreement with the Libra Consortium, which comprises Petrobras as the operator (40 % share), Shell Brasil (20 %), Total (20 %), CNODC (10 %) and CNOOC Limited (10 %).

The consortium also includes Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) as manager of the production sharing contract.

To remind, early in April Petrobras informed that the first production from the Mero 1, through the FPSO Guanabara, was postponed due to delays in FPSO construction.