Petrobras christens P-56

Offshore staff

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – On June 3, Petrobras christened the platform P-56, at the BrasFELS Shipyard, in Angra dos Reis (state of Rio de Janeiro). With capacity to process 100,000 b/d and to compress 6 MMcm/d of gas, the P-56 will operate in the Marlim Sul Field development Module 3, in the Campos basin, Rio de Janeiro.

A semisubmersible unit, theP-56 will be anchored at a depth of 1,670 m (5,479 ft) and interconnected to 21 wells, including 10 oil production wells and 11 water injectors. Identical to platform P-51, the new unit is part of the federal government's Growth Acceleration Program (GAP) and is considered a milestone in the Brazilian naval industry, since it consolidates Brazil's capacity to build platforms of this size. The new platform's topside (integrated modules) attained a domestic content index of 72.9%, and the hull was built entirely in Brazil.

Petrobras and FSTP, a consortium set up by Keppel FELS and Technip, signed the construction agreement for the platform in October 2007. About $1.5 billion was invested in its construction, and the project created 4,000 direct and 12,000 indirect jobs in Brazil. Final construction operations on the platform will be completed in June and it will undergo the testing and final adjustment phases at the Ilha Grande Bay, in Angra dos Reis, and then be tugged to the Campos basin for anchoring and well interconnection. Production is slated to begin in the Marlim Sul Field in August.

The P-56's modular construction comprises the deckbox and hull modules. Keppel FELS assembled the four process and utilities modules at the BrasFELS shipyard. The two power generation modules were built by Rolls Royce in association with UTC Engenharia at UTC's site in Niterói. The two compression modules were built by Nouvo Pignone (General Electric) at the Porto Novo Rio site in Rio de Janeiro. The deckbox was also built at BrasFELS, where the modules were integrated. After integration, the assembled component is known as the topside.

The new platform's hull is entirely Brazilian. It was built at the BrasFELS shipyard by joining the steel modules fabricated by the shipyard itself and by Nuclep, in Itaguaí. The highly complex process of joining the hull to the topside, called deck mating, was carried out smoothly in October 2010. 

• Location: Marlim Sul field, 120 km (75 mi) off the coast• Oil production: 100,000 b/d • Gas compression: 6 MMcm/d • Power generation: 100 MW • Anchoring depth: 1,670 m (5,479 ft) • Length 125 m width 110 m height 137 m • Living quarters: 200 people • Total weight: 54,658 tons • Production wells: 10 • Injection wells: 11 • Risers: 79 • Oil offloading: pipeline to P-38 (approx. 20 km) • Natural gas offloading, gas pipeline to P-51 (approx.15 km)