Marine Technology Reporter Blogs

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.

The MODEC owned and operated FPSO Cidade de Angra dos Reis MV22 has been moored in 2,150 meters (7,053 ft) at its final operational location over the giant Tupi area in the Santos Basin. O&G production operations will begin in a few weeks after on-location tests.MODEC converted the VLCC "M/V Sunrise IV" into an FPSO at the COSCO (Dalian) Shipyard Co., Ltd. (“COSCO Dalian”) in China. The FPSO is classified by ABS as 29.7 meters in depth, 58.00 meters in breadth, and 318.46 meters in length. The conversion from VLCC to FPSO involved steel fabrication, module installation and integration, the installation of cables, pipe and equipment.

The 15th edition of the Rio Oil & Gas 2010 conference and convention broke all records of public and participants and is being considered the biggest and best edition ever. While it can be said that O&G was the main theme of the event, bio-fuels and the maritime industry also had a strong presence. The theme for this 15 edition of the Rio Oil & Gas was “From Petroleum to Bio-fuels: Integrating Knowledge and Increasing the Limits”. The numbers are really impressive, from September 13, when the event started, around 46 thousand participants from 51 countries passed through the 5 pavilions and 2 massive tents arrayed in the 37,000 m² of Riocentro convention center in Rio de Janeiro. There were over 1,700 exhibitors and 740 technical papers presented by researchers from 28 countries.

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.

China Petrochemical (Sinopec) and the Chinese national oil company (CNOOC) are holding separate negotiations with OGX Petroleo e Gás in order to acquire 20% of an OGX deepwater play at the Santos Basin. In general we can see a marked increase in Chinese involvement and investments in Brazil.These negotiations are the most recent effort of Chinese oil companies in Latin America. Normally Chinese oil investments are driven to Asia, the Middle East and Africa, regions that historically concentrate the majority of Chinese imports in energy sources and raw material. As recently as May of this year, Sinochem Group, China’s biggest chemicals trader, agreed yesterday to pay $3 billion to Statoil ASA for 40 percent of the Brazilian offshore Peregrino field.

Starfish Oil & Gas is not exactly a new player, since the company was founded in 1999. As the first private national O&G operator in Brazil and classified as a B class operator by ANP (National Petroleum Agency), Starfish has participation in a variety of onshore and offshore blocks in Brazil and in Angola. The company is structured as a closed capital corporation with capital stock of R$ 82.365 million (US$ 46,533 million, at the current exchange rate). The company´s stock is divided in 502.62 thousand common shares, distributed among 80 shareholders in Brazil and abroad. The first opportunities in the O&G market were identified by the company in the group of licenses granted by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) to Petrobras in the so-called Round Zero, in August of 1998.

With the expected growth of the Brazilian O&G market and high potential for new discoveries, new national and international O&G operators are preparing for or already undertaking exploratory campaigns. We will be taking a look at these new operators and also at how the established players are going about E&P in Brazil.The first new player we will be looking at is HRT Oil & Gas, which is a new national operator, founded in 2009. HRT O&G is a company belonging to the HRT Participation Group, an O&G market consultancy company founded by a prominent geologist Marcio Rocha Mello PhD, who worked for Petrobras for 25 years. HRT`s initial targets are the Brazilian and West African sedimentary basins.

OGX estimates that the total Parnaiba Basin natural gas potential at 15 trillion cubic feet. This discovery opens a new exploratory frontier in an onshore basin, the first in two decades. At the Campos Basin, OGX-18 well reports indication of hydrocarbons, adding to the excellent results of their ongoing exploratory campaign.OGX Petróleo e Gás announced that, through its subsidiary OGX Maranhão, has identified presence of gas in the Devonian section of well 1‐OGX‐16‐MA, in the block PN‐T‐68, in the onshore basin of Parnaiba. OGX Maranhão, an entity formed by OGX S.A. (66.6%) and MPX Energia S.A. (33.3%) is the operator and holds a 70% stake in this block, while Petra Energia S.A. holds the remaining 30%.

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.

Tar Kovacs Systems is a design office specialized in technical innovations, it works in a new mindset with its new technologies being applied to all sea and offshore applications. These technologies are allowing a new approach based on the use of the ocean forces and its green renewable energy potentials instead of mechanical power and hydrocarbon fuels fighting against the environment.Tar Kovacs Systems innovations exists since 2003. Their innovations are offering very simple solutions and more sophisticated ones in every phases of the offshore oil exploration as well as in other maritime and offshore situations. - Deep detection, exploration…

Today was the last day of the Navalshore 2010 maritime and offshore industry conference and fair in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since Wednesday, shipbuilding and maritime equipment industry businessmen from the four corners of the globe have been demonstrating and negotiating their products. At the same time and as an integral part of the event, various conferences have taken place, all related to shipping, shipbuilding and the offshore (O&G) industries.The conferences comprised everything from market forecasts, supply chain demands and expectations, market regulation and business financing, including a very enlightening exposition on the sustainability of the Brazilian shipbuilding industry by Professor Floriano Pires – Ocean Engineering Program of COPPE…

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…

NAVALSHORE 2010 - Trade show and conference for the maritime and offshore industry to take pace next week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Organized in Rio de Janeiro since 2004, Navalshore has become the main event for the maritime industry in the Brazil. The 2009 edition gathered 259 companies from many countries such as:  United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, China, Italy, Singapore, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Norway, Finland, Chile, Denmark, Argentina, and Brazil. 12,600 professionals from marine construction and repairs attended the event. UBM as organizer of a number of the leading events in the maritime industry, all with international recognition…

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.

According to major Brazilian O&G market sources, the official Brazilian pre-salt area boundaries will have to be expanded due to various pre-salt discoveries beyond presently acknowledged frontiers.Companies such as Petrobras, Repsol, Anadarko and Shell have made important pre-salt discoveries away from the Picanha Azul area where the Tupi field is located and where all the blocks drilled presented commercial hydrocarbon accumulations. Repsol is making history in Brazil with block ES-T-737, where they are drilling to a goal depth of 7,500m (24,606ft). Repsol is hedging on finding oil under the salt layer in an area beyond officially recognized pre-salt boundaries.