Page 39: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2011)

February 2011 www.marinelink.com 39

The importance of increasing the num- ber of maintenance rigs in decreasing ac- cident risks on older production rigs should not be underestimated, and Petro- bras will need to speed up their construc- tion, as there is no shortage of old rigs out there.

Petrobras is finally increasing its in- vestments on Maintenance and Security

Units “Unidades de Manutenção e Segu- rança” (UMS). The new unit UMS

Cidade de Arraial do Cabo, will be sup- plying logistics support for production rigs at the Campos Basin, its main func- tion will be to increase safety on the rigs through maintenance and renovation in order to increase the life expectancy of these rigs. Some of the older production rigs at the Campos Basin are plagued by equipment fatigue, rust and small leaks and seepages that if not checked could lead to serious accidents and spills. Last year Petrobras had to deal with major oil worker strikes on many of these old pro- duction rigs, due to lack of sufficient maintenance.

At the time the oil workers union di- vulged some alarming pictures of rusted decks, stairways, stanchions and pipes that appeared to be serious safety haz- ards. The local operator downplayed the dangers and insisted that they were keep- ing to their maintenance schedules.

The new UMS rig is equipped with the latest technology, including a last gener- ation DP system, which allows it to con- nect with any type of rig, fixed or floating, even in foul weather.

The UMS is 109 meters long and 36 meters wide, and works as a floating re- pair shipyard. It contains mechanical and electrical workshops, paint shops, weld- ing and weld inspection areas along with a berthing area with adjoining cafeteria for 350 workers and crew. The first pro- duction rig to be visited will be PCH-1 located over the Cherne field. The UMS is scheduled to start operations at the end of February.

A there are many old production rigs in operation, and this new rig will be only the second operational UMS. Petrobras will have to increase its investment in

UMS rigs in order to keep maintenance up to date on older rigs up and down the coast, as it is hardly the case that all the older rigs are found in the Campos Basin.

The truth of the matter is that there are old production rigs up and down the coast, from the south all the way up to the far north of the Brazilian coast and all will need to have their maintenance and safety issues addressed as quickly as pos- sible in order to avoid catastrophic acci- dents, such as gas leaks leading to explosions and major oil spills caused by ruptured flow pipes, not to mention pro- duction stoppages due to faulty equip- ment, such as pumps and generators. — Claudio Paschoa, Brazil

New Maintenance Rig for the Campos Basin: More Urgently Needed