Peregrino gets submerged turret production buoy

Moored in 100 m (328 ft) of water in Peregrino field, block BM-C-7, Campos basin, Brazil, the STP buoy is held by 10 mooring lines each attached to the side of the buoy by Ballgrab mooring line connectors. A male Ballgrab connector was used to retrieve and pull the 600 metric ton (661 ton) buoy into theMaersk Peregrino FPSO by integrating a female connector into the top of the buoy.

Buoy during pull-in to theMaersk Peregrino FPSO moonpool.

Prior to the FPSO arriving on-station, the male Ballgrab, attached to the pull-in rope, was lowered into the female connector on the STP buoy by the installation vesselMaersk Attender. Once the FPSO was in position, the buoy, held 22 m (72 ft) below the surface, was pulled into the vessel’s mating cone module. With the STP buoy locked in, the FPSO is permanently moored at its location.

Contract announcements

China National Offshore Oil Corp. has contracted FMC Technologies Inc. to manufacture and supply subsea production equipment for the Liuhua 4-1 development project. The award has a value of approximately $85 million.

Liuhua 4-1 will contain eight subsea trees and will tieback to the existing Liuhua 11-1 field. It is in 850-1,000 ft (260-300 m) water depths in the South China Sea, 130 mi (215 km) from Hong Kong and 150 mi (240 km) from Shenzhen. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 4Q 2011.

FMC also has signed an agreement (Option 3 - Girassol Infills) withTotal Exploration & Production Angola for the manufacture and supply of subsea production equipment to support the Girassol Resource Initiative (GirRI) project. The award has a value of approximately $80 million.

Equipment supplied under Option 3 will support the Girassol field, located offshore Angola in the Gulf of Guinea. FMC’s scope includes the manufacture of three subsea production trees, six wellheads, and assorted flow base and jumper equipment. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 4Q 2011.

Petrobras has signed McDermott International Inc.’s subsea construction vessel Agile to install subsea flexible pipelines and umbilicals in up to 2,000 m (6,562 ft) of water offshore Brazil. McDermott also will provide subsea installation engineering for the duration of the five-year contract.

Work is expected to begin at the end of 2Q 2011, with McDermott’s dedicated subsea engineering team mobilizing to Macae in Brazil for the duration of the project.

While still on the topic of Brazil,Technip says it plans to expand its flexible pipe manufacturing capacity in Brazil by adding additional volume and high-end products.

Technip says that Brazil’s hydrocarbon reserves in recent years have driven the demand for flexible pipes for infield flowlines and risers. The pre-salt developments will increase the demand for flexible pipes, both for flowline and riser applications, thus requiring additional capacity and technological capabilities. The investment will start this year with construction site preparation costing an estimated €30 million ($41 million). Additional phases will follow as Technip defines its clients’ technological needs.

Subsea 7 S.A. confirms the award of a $160-million contract to SapuraAcergy Sdn Bhd from PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) Pty Ltd for development at the Montara project in the southern Timor Sea approximately 690 km (429 mi) west of Darwin.

SapuraAcergy’s work involves engineering, procurement, load out, transport, and construction to remove and disposal of the existing topside, and also the transportation and installation of new pipelines, risers, umbilicals, spools, manifolds, FPSO mooring systems, and a replacement topside. Montara is in water depths of approximately 80 m (262 ft).

Engineering and project preparations are under way and offshore installation is scheduled during 2011 using theSapura 3000, SapuraAcergy’s dynamic positioned heavy-lift and pipelay vessel.

Chevron USA Inc. has contracted 2H Offshore for the detailed design and delivery management of the riser systems for the Big Foot field development. Big Foot field is owned by Chevron is operator and among others, the interest owners include Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC.

Big Foot is in the Gulf of Mexico Walker Ridge block 29, where a dry tree drilling and production TLP will be installed in approximately 1,600 m (5,200 ft) of water.

The riser systems will consist of two high-pressure drilling risers, 15 production/water injection top tensioned risers (TTR), and oil and gas export steel catenary risers. The scope includes system integration, procurement services, and offshore installation support of the TTRs and export riser systems. The 2H office in Houston is responsible for the contract and work.