Petrobras mulls FPSO topside proposals

The vessels are to be used in the Lula and Sapinhoa pre-salt fields in the Santos basin.Brazilian oil giant Petrobras was on Tuesday receiving commercial proposals on a massive tender covering the fabrication of topsides modules and integration on eight FPSO vessels.

 

Petrobras has invited more than 20 companies to bid for the multi-billion dollar contracts and will be accepting the offers throughout the entire day, after holding brief, closed-door meetings with each group.

 

One well-informed source told Upstream that Petrobras is only expected to reveal the prices at a later date, still to be announced.

 

Petrobras intends to divide the integration work of the eight FPSOs between a maximum of three contractors.

 

It is understood that each of the three contractors will receive a firm order to carry out the integration of two FPSOs, with an option for a third floater depending on performance, meaning that two companies will be awarded the integration of three vessels and one will work on just two.

 

Petrobras is also dividing topsides bidding into five smaller packages containing up to 16 modules for each replica floater.

 

The first package includes the pipe-rack, flare system, carbon dioxide removal, sulphate removal, water injection and automation-electric modules. Companies selected for the integration process will also be responsible for fabricating the modules from this first lot.

 

The second package covers the gas fuel-dehydration modules, while the third lot features the carbon dioxide injection, gas export, gas injection and the steam compression-recovery modules.

 

Package four comprises the oil processing, water treatment and manifolds modules, and finally the fifth package involves two distinct power generation modules.

 

Among the companies that are expected to submit offers are Brazilian engineering groups Odebrecht, Camargo Correa, Queiroz Galvao, Andrade Gutierrez, Keppel Fels, UTC Engenharia, GDK, Iesa, Techint and EBE.

Brazilian engineering outfit Engevix - through its offshore unit Ecovix - is proceeding with construction of the eight FPSO hulls at the Estaleiro Rio Grande shipyard, in southern Rio Grande do Sul state, after clinching a $3.46 billion contract in 2010.

 

Each unit will have capacity to produce 150,000 barrels per day of oil and 8 million cubic metres per day of natural gas. Six FPSOs will be deployed in the giant Lula field and two in the nearby Sapinhoa field, formerly known as the Guara accumulation.

 

Petrobras expects the first two units to start up in 2015 at the Lula Alto and Lula Central areas, with the remaining six following in 2016 and 2017.

15:19 GMT 07. February 2012   |  last updated: 15:19 GMT 07. February 2012

The Edge Summary

UPDATE 2-Rig maker Keppel upbeat after record 2011 profit

SINGAPORE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Keppel Corp Ltd reported record annual profit for 2011 and gave a bullish outlook as high oil prices and strong demand for deepwater rigs is set fuel growth at the world's largest rig-builder.

The conglomerate, around 20 percent owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, also had record offshore and marine new orders worth S$10 billion ($7.9 billion) in 2011 as oil explorers snapped up new rigs for shallow water operations.

With oil prices likely to stay above $80 a barrel, a level seen by the industry as conducive for oil firms to explore new fields, Keppel and rival Sembcorp Marine Ltd may win some high-value deepwater rig projects this year.

" The offshore market is hot, not only in Brazil but in West Africa, in the North Sea, as well as other parts of the world. We are in a good position to capture some more markets," Keppel's Chief Executive Choo Chiau Beng told reporters.

Concerns about a global recession in early August hit oil prices and pummeled Keppel's shares by nearly 40 percent over two months. But a stream of new orders, mostly late last year have helped its shares recover.

Keppel reported net profit of S$389 million for October-December, up 11 percent from a restated profit of S$352 million a year ago.

The profit was ahead of the average forecast of S$347 million from four analysts surveyed by Reuters, partly due to one-off items that boosted the net income of its property unit Keppel Land Ltd.

" What has been missing from this cycle is actually the semisubmersible orders, particularly due to the Gulf of Mexico incident. Now, we have seen signs of recovery and in the next few quarters, Keppel may be able to win some semisubmersible orders," said Phillip Securities analyst Nicholas Low.

Keppel shares have risen by around 16 percent so far this year, outpacing the 9 percent rise in the main local index . The firm counts major offshore contractors such as Transocean Ltd and Seadrill Ltd among its key clients.

Brazil's oil sector will open a wealth of opportunities for equipment makers and service providers as it prepares to start extracting oil it found in a deep-sea offshore region known as the subsalt.

State-owned oil company Petrobras SA, is undertaking the oil industry's biggest capital spending plan at $225 billion through 2015, and analysts said Singapore yards should benefit from this.

Keppel's offshore and marine arm accounted for 71 percent of full-year net profit, but the biggest earnings growth came from its smaller infrastructure and property arms which reported increases of 44 percent and 40 percent, respectively. ($1 = 1.2714 Singapore dollars) (Editing by  Anshuman Daga)