Page 39: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Jul/Aug 2024)

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FPSO MARECHAL DUQUE DE CAXIAS

Petrobras produced gas to help power the FPSOs- reducing emis- with the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) stud- sions compared to faring of the gas. ies, has reserved another a Fast4Ward hull.

In Spring, 2024, XOM announced that it was forg- Still father to the east, Petrobras has been ramping up its ing ahead on “Whiptail”, a new project offshore Guyana activity in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil. Late April saw the which is slated to come online in late 2027. In advance arrival of the newly constructed FPSO Marechal Duque de of the FID, the oil giant had previously set in motion a Caxias, owned by MISC Berhad, at the Mero feld, following contract for engineering/design of the ffth FPSO, to be a voyage from Yantai, China. This FPSO had been converted named Jaguar, in the Fast4Ward program. According to from a VLCC at the CIMC Raffes yard, which also handled

SBM Offshore, the new Fast4Ward FPSO, which will be construction and integration of topside modules. moored in waters with a depth of 1,630 meters, will be In May 2024, after FID was taken on new projects, able to produce around 250,000 bbl/day of oil; storage ca- Petrobras announced that it had awarded Seatrium with pacity is 2 million bbl/day. In June 2024, the hull (desig- construction contracts for two FPSOs (to be named P-84 nated as MPF5 and now set for topside work in Singapore) and P-85), with an aggregate pricing in excess of the equiv- was launched from a drydock of the Shanghai Waigaoqiao alent of $8 billion. According to Seatrium, each FPSO will

Shipbuilding (SWS), a subsidiary of China State Ship- each have a production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil/ building Corporation Limited (CSSC). In a new business day and gas processing capacity of 10 million m3/day. De- model for SBM Offshore, it will operate the FPSO for the livery of the two FPSO’s is slated for 2029; they will oper- oil company owner. Øivind Tangen, the CEO of SBM ate in the Atapu and Sépia felds (also in the Santos Basin);

Offshore (assuming the role in April, 2024), commented where Petrobras has majority stakes (but consortia mem- in a Q1 fnancial report, “…It will be our frst based on bers also include Total and Petrogas). Petrobras’s Strategic a sale and operate model, adding an accelerated cashfow Plan for 2024 – 2028+, unveiled in late 2023, pointed to profle for the project to our backlog. Following transfer deployment of 14 new FPSOs, of which 10 had already of ownership to the client at the end of the construction been contracted. According to the company, “A new gener- period, we expect to operate the FPSO under our 10-year ation of more modern, more technological, more effcient

Operations and Maintenance Enabling Agreement.” SBM platforms, with lower emissions, is being built.”

Offshore also announced that it had sourced $250 million Shell (with a 16.7% holding in the Atapu consortium), in a 12-month bridge loan (optional six month extension), elaborated on the advanced technologies, saying: “The to be repaid when a construction fnance package kicks in. new unit will feature all-electric capability, aimed

To the east of Guyana, Suriname is also seeing oil ex- at lowering carbon intensity for production processes.” ploration, and production. Total Energies, the operator of Seatrium goes into additional detail, saying that: “Both “Block 58” in waters approximately 150 miles offshore Su- FPSOs will incorporate advanced technologies such as zero riname, is expected to make a FID in late 2024 regarding routine faring and venting, variable speed drives and mea- an FPSO project, following successful exploration using sures to control emissions and capture CO2, including an the drillship Noble Valiant. If plans move ahead, produc- all-electric concept, which focuses on effcient power gen- tion would start sometime in 2028. In preparation, SBM eration and increased energy effciency to achieve a 30%

Offshore, partnering with Technip Energies, and in line reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity.”

JULY/AUGUST 2024 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 39