Petrobras orders 11th FPSO for Búzios project offshore Brazil

Sept. 28, 2022
Keppel Shipyard has won a tender from Petrobras to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction of the P-83 FPSO for about US$2.8 billion.

Offshore staff

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil  Petrobras has contracted Keppel Shipyard to construct P-83, the 11th FPSO for the expanding Búzios field development in the Santos Basin presalt area offshore Brazil.

According to Keppel, this will be identical in terms of the specifications and execution methodology to the P-80, which Keppel Offshore & Marine is building for the same project under a contract placed by Petrobras in August, and adds about $S3.8 billion to its order book. It has also been constructing the P-78 FPSO for Búzios since May 2021.

P-83 is designed to produce up to 225,000 bbl/d of oil, process up to 12 MMcm/d of gas and store more than 1.6 MMbbl of oil, with 250,000 bbl/d water injection capacity. Petrobras plans 15 interconnected subsea wells comprising eight oil producers and seven injectors.

Construction of P-83’s topside modules will be split between Keppel O&M yards in Singapore, China and Brazil, with CIMC Raffles in China responsible for the hull and accommodation module. Integration of the various components will take place in Singapore, with Keppel O&M performing the final phase of offshore commissioning when the FPSO arrives at the field location during the first half of 2027.

Later that year, the platform should start production, helping to raise the field's installed capacity from the current 600,000 bbl/d to the targeted 2 MMbbl/d.

According to Petrobras, P-83 is one of its new generation of platforms, with high production capacity and technologies to reduce carbon emissions. It will feature 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 methane leaks. It will also feature technology for carbon capture and storage.

A digital twin of P-83 will allow remote simulations and operational tests, supporting safety and reliability, Petrobras added.

09.28.2022