Brazilian FPSO deal brings Maersk Supply Service ‘largest solutions contract to date’

Denmark-headquartered Maersk Supply Service has inked a deal with TechnipFMC for the comprehensive towing and mooring campaign of Petrobras’s Búzios 6 project offshore Brazil. This entails the hook-up of the seventh FPSO at the Búzios field.

Maersk Supply Service announced the award of its “largest solutions contract to date” in the Búzios field, located in the Santos Basin off Brazil, on Thursday, 26 January 2023. The company’s scope of work covers the pre-installation of the mooring system and hook-up of the FPSO P-78, which is being built at Keppel Shipyard, as the seventh unit to be installed at this field.

The construction deal for the FPSO P-78 was awarded to a consortium of Keppel Offshore and Marine and Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2021. This FPSO, which is scheduled for delivery in 2024, is expected to have a processing capacity of 180 thousand barrels of oil and 7.2 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Rafael Thome, Managing Director for Brazil at Maersk Supply Service, remarked: “We are very pleased to support the development of the Búzios 6 field and to further expand our operations in Brazil. Our approach is to combine our engineering, project management and operational experience with the best-in-class capabilities of our fleet, providing added value to the Brazilian market.”

According to Maersk Supply Service, the project will be carried out over almost two years, with onshore work – including engineering, procurement and project management for such assigned activities – already underway, while offshore work – expected to utilise two of Maersk Supply Service’s “state-of-the-art” M-class anchor handlers – will be supported by an additional four AHTS for the station keeping.

Olivier Trouvé, Head of Integrated Solutions at Maersk Supply Service, commented: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue building on our positive relationship with TechnipFMC, and to further demonstrate our capabilities in delivering challenging EPCI mooring projects in deepwater Brazil.”

This award follows the completion of the Mero 2 contract for the FPSO Sepetiba, covering the pre-installation of the mooring system at a water depth of over 2,000 metres. The project involved the procurement and installation of 24 torpedo anchors and the subsequent abandonment of the polyester mooring lines, as underlined by Maersk Supply Service.

Petrobras’ plans for the Búzios field include reaching the end of this decade with daily production of around 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, which will enable the field to become the company’s highest-producing asset. 

Over the past few months, Petrobras has been handing out contracts for activities related to this field. In line with this, the firm inked a contract with Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters in October 2022 to construct the FPSO P-82 for operations on the Búzios field. This came days after Petrobras signed a contract with Keppel Shipyard to build the FPSO P-83 for the Búzios field.

Regarding Petrobras’ other recent activities, it is worth noting that the FPSO Anita Garibaldi MV33 arrived in Brazil this month. This vessel will be installed at the Marlim field in the Campos Basin.

The FPSO will be capable of processing 80,000 barrels of crude oil and 7 million cubic meters of gas per day. The new vessel will be connected to 43 wells, with peak production scheduled for 2026.