GALLERY: FPSO Pioneiro de Libra on its way to Brazil

Odebrecht Oil and Gas (OOG) and Teekay Offshore Partners held a departure ceremony in Singapore for the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra on Tuesday. 

The FPSO owned by the 50/50 joint venture between the two companies is heading to Brazil on a voyage expected to last around 65 days, ending in early June. Pioneiro de Libra will be the first to produce oil in the giant Libra Block.

Since the naming of the FPSO in December of last year, the vessel has undergone commissioning and sea tests. During the trip to Brazil, other tests will be carried out and, upon arrival, the vessel will undergo approval processes by inspection bodies and Libra field operator Petrobras.

The unit is chartered by the consortium between Petrobras, Total, Shell, CNPC, and CNOOC for a period of 12 years. First oil from the field is expected by the end of the first half of 2017.

Jorge Mitidieri, OOG’s superintendent-director of Integrated Services, said: “The FPSO Pioneiro de Libra is an important milestone for the production of oil in Brazil and we are proud to conclude this phase of the project.

“It will be the first FPSO to operate in the Libra Block, which is considered one of the largest pre-salt oil reserves in the world.”

He added that the company’s partnership with Teekay Offshore got its second unit after four years of operating the FPSO Cidade de Itajaí.

Roberto Simões, CEO of Odebrecht Oil and Gas, said: “This shows the strength and resilience of our teams and especially the partnership between OOG and Teekay Offshore.”

Pioneiro de Libra FPSO

The FPSO will operate in the Libra Block which covers more than 1,500 square kilometers in the Santos Basin, situated 164 kilometers off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, south of the city of Saquarema.

The construction of the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra began at the end of 2014 at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore and required an investment of around $1 billion. The unit can operate at water depths of up to 2,400 meters, with a production capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil per day and daily compression capacity of four million cubic meters of gas.

Contracts for the charter and operation of the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra were signed in October 2014. In the following year, the joint venture signed the financing contract for the FPSO’s construction with a group of international banks.