Keppel scores $2.8 bln worth FPSO order with Petrobras

Brazil’s oil and gas company Petrobras has signed a contract with Keppel Shipyard for the construction of the P-83 FPSO, as a result of the advancement of the Búzios field development project, in the Santos Basin pre-salt area off Brazil.

As detailed by Petrobras in a statement on Wednesday, the P-83 will be able to produce up to 225 thousand barrels of oil per day (bpd), process up to 12 million m3 of gas per day, and store more than 1.6 million barrels. It will be among the largest floating production units in the world.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, Keppel said that the order is worth about $2.8 billion. This is a repeat order for Keppel following the order for FPSO P-80 placed by Petrobras in August this year. The P-83 will be identical to the P-80 in specifications and execution methodology, Keppel said.

Petrobras said that this latest project foresees the interconnection of 15 wells, 8 of which are oil producers and 7 injectors. The platform will be the eleventh unit to be installed in Búzios. Petrobras is the operator of this field with a 92.6 per cent stake, with CNOOC and CNODC as partners, with 3.7 per cent each.

The fabrication of the topside modules will be replicated across Keppel O&M’s facilities in Singapore, China and Brazil, while the construction of the hull and accommodation module will be done by CIMC Raffles in China. Integration of the separate components will be carried out in Singapore, with the final phase of offshore commissioning works undertaken by Keppel O&M when the FPSO arrives at the Buzios field.

The vessel will start production in 2027 and will contribute to increasing the field’s installed capacity from the current 600 thousand bpd to 2 million bpd.

The P-83 is part of the company’s new generation of platforms, with high production capacity and technologies to reduce carbon emissions. The platform will use the closed flare technology, which increases the use of gas and prevents it from being burned into the atmosphere.

Another innovation will be the methane gas detection system, capable of acting to prevent or mitigate the risk of leaks of this compound, according to Petrobras.

The platform will also be equipped with CCUS technology – CO2 Capture, Use, and Geological Storage.

The P-83 will also be equipped with digital twins technology, which consists of the platform’s virtual reproduction, allowing several remote simulations and operational tests.