Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - petrobras

Present in Brazil for over 90 years, GE is preparing to invest $500 million in Brazil along the next 3 years and maintain its investments in local training and research. GE O&G mayl be one of the main recipients of this local investment as it is a market with great growth potential and where GE already has a very strong presence. Very recently Petrobras and General Electric (GE) signed an agreement for future technology cooperation in R&D projects for monitoring and controlling oil and gas production systems. The development of subsea and compact systems for O&GQ production, and remote monitoring of equipment are among the purposes of this agreement, which highlights the importance GE has had in the development of Brazil´s oil industry.

With the intention of making a more efficient pre-salt FPSO production in Brazil, Petrobras had selected the Rio Grande Shipyard works and dry-dock to be their FPSO production center. There was still a need for a tender process to select which local company would be responsible for the construction process of the first 8 FPSOs to be built from a total of 40 FPSOs originally calculated to be needed for the pre-salt development. These units are part of the new strategy for the construction of production units, designed to simplify projects and standardize equipment. Producing identical hulls in series will accelerate the construction phase, and allow economies of scale and cost optimization.

With the growth of the Brazilian O&G market, various small local operators has sprung up, truly coloring the oil market scene in the country and also attracting foreign investors looking at forming local partnerships.Aurizônia Petróleo was established in 2004 in Rio Grande do Norte, ain north Brazil and has two branches, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and in Mossoró (RN). The company's objective is the exploration, production, importation and exportation of oil and natural gas. Since its inception, Aurizônia has been highly successful in building a balanced and successful E&P portfolio in mature land basins in Brazil. Among the areas in which Aurizônia operates…

New discoveries and the development of deepwater and ultra-deepwater pre-salt increases the demand for subsea equipment and service providers, attracting various international and local companies to compete for subsea contracts for the Brazilian offshore.The deepwater scene is in full swing in Brazil, with major projects being developed by various operators and national operator Petrobras. All these projects require a multitude of subsea equipment and subsea services, which accounted for a steady growth in subsea equipment and service providers from around the world setting shop in Brazil. Companies that have a history of quality equipment and services usually have an advantage when disputing these contracts, but the final product and services price is also a major issue.

The exploratory campaigns by Petrobras and other players continue uncovering new O&G provinces in Brazil.The latest discovery is in the Brazilian northeast region, in the ultra deep Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, where Petrobras identified the presence of hydrocarbons similar to those bearing oil in deep Campos Basin waters. Data analysis confirms the existence of large accumulations in this sector of the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, implying that there are greater volumes than those found in the shallow water fields such as Guaricema and Dourado. The seismic profile data points to the presence of large volumes of light hydrocarbons. This well, called 1-BRSA-851-SES (1-SES-158)…

While the news pertaining to discoveries and new field developments is highly encouraging, the bottleneck created by logistics needs for the pre-salt and lack of specialized workforce in various areas of the O&G industry is hindering a faster growth rate for the oil and shipbuilding industry in Brazil.Petrobras was recently upgraded to being the fourth largest energy company in the world, mostly due to the pre-salt fields and there is little doubt in the market that the company can continue climbing this ladder, possibly to the very top, in another decade. Unfortunately it is not all roses, as serious logistics and workforce issues continue plaguing the nation.

The launching of the Rio Grande Naval Complex completes another key project for pre-salt production, as the complex will house the hybrid pre-salt FPSO production line, which already has an order book for 8 units. Petrobras has launched today the Rio Grande Naval Complex, in the city of Rio Grande, southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. The complex is considered so vital to the Brazilian pre-salt production that the outgoing president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was in attendance. The complex consists of a 430,000 m² infrastructure designed for the construction and repair of offshore units for the O&G industry. The complex will be capable of building drillers and production rigs.

With Brazilian presidential elections imminent, and having just completed its successful shares offer, Petrobras finds itself in a privileged position with the new pre-salt legislation guaranteeing the company as sole operator of all the pre-salt blocks negotiated from the 11th bidding round onwards.Although some parts of the new legislation are still to be voted it is considered as a certainty that the bils concerning Petrobras´ greater influence in the pre-salt will pass. Since the discovery of the Tupi field in 2007, and other pre-salt fields discovered at the Santos Basin, there has been national and global excitement over the possible extent of Brazil´s pre-salt reserves.

Four new construction yard foundations are being built in the Aratu Bay inside the Bay of All Saints (Baía de Todos os Santos), in the state of Bahia.The four new yards will build offshore rigs modules and the complex is expected to open a total of 4,000 work positions for the local workforce. The state maritime and port industry secretary commented that there is a need to invest in workforce training or there will be an invasion of workers from other states. Steps are being taken by the State and Federal Government to qualify workers, such as welders, painters and technicians to man the yards. The new yards will be run by four different companies, Belov Engenharia and GDK from Bahia, Multitek from Minas Gerais and Niplan from São Paulo.

Petrobras supply chain to receive an unheard of $1.8 billion (R$3 billion) in financing by major national banks.The $1.8 billion in financing for the Petrobras supply chain, which has never occurred before, will be undertaken by the biggest banks operating in Brazil, through the Progress Program (Programa Progredir). The banks involved in the financing operation are Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Santander, Caixa Economica, HSBC and Itaú. The targets are the 34 thousand direct suppliers and 216 thousand indirect suppliers for Petrobras. The goal is to preferentially beneficiate the small and medium companies that supply equipment and materials to Petrobras´ direct suppliers.

The new facilities, including bold construction techniques, sustainability and eco-efficiency, represent an advance for Petrobras’ technology development. With the expansion the complex on Fundão Island will occupy more than 300 thousand m² making it one of the largest centers of applied research in the world. There will be various laboratories designed to meet the technological demands of Petrobras’ business areas, in particular, the laboratories of Biotechnology, Environment and Gas & Energy stand out. The expansion will also include modern laboratories dedicated exclusively to meeting the demands of the pre-salt projects. The CENPES expansion is part of a Petrobras strategy to expand the experimental capacity of the Brazilian technological park.

According to Petrobras and many other players involved in the O&G market, Rio de Janeiro is the new oil capital of the world.Now that actually may come to be, but there is still a ways to go. As it is, we are all happy campers down here. It is not hard to tell that the simple possibility of this happening is blowing minds and aggravating some players, especially in Houston. The fact is that what goes up must eventually come down and that´s just the way it is. I must admit that for a Brazilian like me, a middle class wanna be, the numbers are quite thrilling. However, there is no running from the fact that the challenges are many. You can have all the oil in the world…

The sheer amount of orders already placed and expected for drill ships and rigs is pushing the new Brazilian shipbuilding industry into raising its game in order to compete for driller orders.Petrobras alone is responsible for ordering a total of 28 drill ships of which 9 have already gone through the tendering process and will soon start being built. Transocean is building 9 drill ships at international shipyards, including the Petrobras 10,000 drillship at the Samsung shipyard in South Korea, the ship being already pegged for a 10 year service contract with Petrobras. Noble has 3 drill ships and 2 drill rigs slated to start five to six year contracts with Petrobras.

Petrobras has lately been dealing with serious workers, syndicate, regulatory agency and judicial concerns over the state of some equipment on a few of its older production platforms. How important is safety anyway?The O&G workers syndicate, “Sindicato dos Petroleiros do Norte Fluminense” (SPNF) has been battling with Petrobras over the state of conservation of some production platforms at the Campos Basin. The main complaints were rusted pipes, usually the ones flowing with water and gas that show advanced stages of rust and also problems with working conditions of various valves and lubrication filters. In some rigs the rust is so pronounced that areas had to be cordoned off as they presented grave danger to workers. This includes stairs, floor grates and safety fences.

The use of automated equipments is on a steady rise in Brazilian shipyards, which are looking to be more competitive and meet order demands. A modernized production line is a necessity for the national shipyards in order to be internationally competitive and to honor contract schedules. Basically all the shipyards are investing in automation to a larger or lesser extent. At this point the Brazilian shipyard which has most invested in automated systems is the EAS shipyard (Estaleiro Atlantico Sul) at the Suape complex in Ceará, northeast Brazil. It is also the biggest shipyard in operation in the country and has a partnership with Korean shipbuilding giant Samsung Heavy Industries.

DOF has been awarded four new charter contracts by Petrobras, at a total value of NOK 5.2 billion.Norskan Offshore do Brazil, a subsidiary of DOF ASA has been awarded four, 8 years contracts with Petrobras for large AHTS vessels. Two of the charter contracts are for new build numbers 26 and 27 to be built at the STX Promar yard in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Norskan is in final negotiation with STX Promar for two new build contracts to serve the other two charter contracts awarded. The charter contracts are expected to begin sometime between 2011 and 2013. The four contracts represent gross revenues of approximately NOK 5.2 billion. DOF CEO Mons Aase commented…

A new partnership between ANP (National Petroleum Agency), Ibama (National Environmental Agency) and the Brazilian Navy, plans to upgrade and expand existing E&P safety measures, in order to prevent major oil spills in Brazil. According to Haroldo Lima, Director of ANP, presently Petrobras elaborates the contingency programs for each platform, but now the Brazilian government will launch a nationwide contingency plan led by the navy and involving the regulatory agency and the environmental agency. Although Lima emphasizes that the current safety systems and regulatory systems in place on offshore platforms in Brazil are among the most advanced in the world, he admits there will certainly be upgrades due to the Deepwater Horizon tragedy at the GOM.

CVD Vale is developing a new synthetic diamond drill bit for the Brazilian pre-salt drilling operations which will soon be tested by Petrobras.CVD Vale is a Brazilian company located in São José dos Campos in the State of São Paulo. They specialize in manufacturing high grade synthetic diamonds for industrial use. Next month two CVD Vale prototype diamond tipped drill bits will start being tested by Petrobras at selected pre-salt plays. According to company founder Vladimir Airoldi.” We´ve made synthetic diamond fillings produced from gases for the drill bits, a pioneer initiative in the world”. According to Airoldi, the big differential with this technology is the greater durability of the drill bit…

Petrobras is likely to anticipate by 2 or 3 months commercial O&G production at the Tupi pre-salt field.The initial schedule for commercial O&G production at the Tupi pre-salt field held December 31 2010 as the maximum deadline for start-up. The revised schedule calls for commercial production start-up to begin in September or October 2010, anticipating the production by 3 months. This will make it possible for the government to have 2 pre-salt fields in commercial production before the presidential elections, scheduled for November 2010. Commercial production at Tupi is expected to be around 100 million barrels per day (bpd), from 5 production wells to be connected to the BW offshore FPSO Cidade de Angra, currently being adapted at a shipyard in China.

GE O&G has been awarded a contract valued at $160 million to supply gas turbine and compressor equipment by Petrobras Neatherlands BV (PNBV).The equipment will be deployed on two FPSOs (P-58 and P-62) for E&P in oil fields located in Brazilian offshore plays. This important $160 million contract is related to power generation and compressor equipment packages to be deployed on two Petrobras FPSO units slated to work the north side of the Parque das Baleias (Whale Park) O&G fields and at the Roncador field at the Campos Basin. These combined will support production of 360,000 barrels of oil per day. The FPSOs are scheduled to go online in 2013.