Libra Consortium Signs Contract For FPSO Unit For Mero Field

Petrobras said on Dec. 18 that it had chartered an FPSO unit to be the first production system of the Mero Field.

The 22-year contract with the Modec Inc., signed on Dec. 14, stipulates that part of the construction to take place in Brazil. The FPSO unit will be deployed at a depth of 2,100 m (6,890 ft) in the northwestern area of the Libra Block in the presalt region of the Santos Basin.

Production is expected to begin in 2021, with this project involving interconnection of as many as 17 wells to the platform. The FPSO unit will have a capacity of up to 180,000 bbl/d of oil, and 12 MMcm/d (424 MMcf/d) of gas.

The FPSO unit will be installed in the Mero Field in the presalt of the Santos Basin.

Libra production began with operations of the first FPSO unit in the block, the Pioneiro de Libra FPSO vessel, on Nov. 26. That vessel is dedicated to extended well tests and early production systems. The Libra Consortium—Petrobras, Shell, Total, CNPC and CNOOC Ltd.—declared commerciality of the northwest portion of the block on Nov. 30. Total said Dec. 18 it had made an investment decision on the Libra project.

Aker Solutions To Design Johan Castberg FPSO Accommodation Unit

Aker Solutions landed a contract from Sembcorp Marine in early December to design the living quarters for the Johan Castberg development’s FPSO unit.

Aker will engage in detailed design engineering of the living quarters—financial details for the contract were not disclosed—and technical specifications for the equipment and supplies required to build the unit for the Statoil-operated development. Johan Castberg is the largest oil discovery in the Norwegian Barents Sea.

“We will build on our previous work on the development to optimize the design of the living quarters,” Knut Sandvik, Aker’s executive vice president over the company’s projects delivery center, said in a statement.

Aker is already developing the unit at its Oslo, Norway, and Mumbai, India locations. The company expects delivery in second-half 2018.

Sembcorp will build the living quarters at its Singapore shipyard.

Hurricane Is On Track For Lancaster Production In 2019

Aoka Mizu, Hurricane Energy Plc’s FPSO unit that arrived in Dubai in September for an upgrade, will be ready for the company to achieve first production in the Lancaster Field during first-half 2019.

Hurricane assured analysts in early December that the project, west of Shetland in depths of about 160 m (525 ft), was on schedule.

The first phase of upgrades on the FPSO unit has been completed, the company said. These include:

  • Removal of a thruster for overhaul;
  • Outer hull surveys;
  • Replacement of sea valves;
  • Installation of new bilge keels;
  • Initial tank inspections; and
  • Cleaning.

Among the repairs, upgrades and life-extension works to be conducted on Aoka Mizu, fabrication work is also planned for an associated buoy to connect to the turret mooring system. The buoy locking ring is in the process of being installed.

—Joseph Markman