WATCH: SBM Offshore’s largest FPSO sailing toward Brazil’s huge deepwater field

Following departure from a Chinese yard, the Netherlands-based SBM Offshore is looking forward to the arrival of its new floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel at a giant field in the pre-salt Santos Basin off the coast of Brazil, where it will work for the country’s state-owned energy heavyweight, Petrobras.

Three years after obtaining a binding letter of intent (LoI) in February 2021 and signing contracts with Petrobras for the 26.25-year lease and operation of the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré in July 2021, SBM Offshore held a naming ceremony for the vessel, which was named after Joaquim Marques Lisboa, Marquis of Tamandaré, who was a 19th-century military hero and admiral of Brazil’s Imperial Army.

The FPSO left the China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) shipyard in China on Wednesday, July 31, heading for the Búzios field, where it is set to be the first high-capacity unit to be installed. The first oil is slated for 2024. With the potential to produce up to 225,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and process 12 million cubic meters of gas per day, the FPSO’s design incorporates SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward new build, multi-purpose hull, which was nearing completion at the yard in February 2023.

“The journey just begins for FPSO Almirante Tamandaré with a successful sail away from China! The FPSO, which is set to be the largest in SBM Offshore’s fleet, has started its journey toward Brazil to serve Petrobras. Congratulations to all the AT teams, both project and operations for this great achievement, and best wishes for the journey ahead,” outlined SBM Offshore.

The FPSO Almirante Tamandaré has been equipped with decarbonization technologies, such as the closed flare, which, together with other equipment, reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Aside from this, the technology for using heat eliminates the need for additional energy, on top of equipment for removing CO2 from the gas and its subsequent injection into the reservoir. The unit will have an estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity below 10 kg CO2e/boe.

Renata Baruzzi, Petrobras’ Director of Engineering, Technology, and Innovation, commented: “The FPSO Almirante Tamandaré will be a fundamental resource for the evolution of production in the Búzios field, which already has very positive numbers. I would also like to highlight the technologies of this platform, aimed at decarbonizing production, one of Petrobras’ main objectives in all its operations.”

Petrobras reached a cumulative production of 1 billion barrels of oil from Búzios in March 2024, with the sum of the production produced by five FPSO units operating in the field: P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, and Almirante Barroso. The Búzios consortium is composed of Petrobras (operator), Chinese partners, CNOOC and CNODC, along with PPSA, the company managing the production sharing contracts (PSCs).

Sail-away of FPSO Almirante Tamandaré

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China’s ZPMC launched the fore part of a hull for another FPSO destined to be deployed to the same field, shortly after CIMC Raffles won two engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts with Seatrium for FPSO hulls related to a pair of units that will also work for Petrobras upon completion.