$2.3B FPSO Order Goes to Keppel

Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) has awarded Keppel Shipyard a US$2.3 billion contract to build the P-78 floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, parent company Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) (SGX: BN4) reported Monday.

“We are pleased to support Petrobras with another major FPSO where we are taking on a much larger scope than ever before,” remarked Chris Ong, Keppel O&M’s CEO, in a written statement emailed to Rigzone. “This project taps our well-recognized capabilities as a leading integrator of offshore energy and infrastructure assets, leveraging our strengths in engineering and project management, with a focus on higher value-adding work.”

The FPSO will be customized to operate in Brazil’s deepwater Buzios oil field, Keppel O&M stated. The contract recipient pointed out the P-78 will rank among the world’s largest FPSOs, with the following specifications:

• 180,000 barrels of oil per day and 7.2 million cubic meters of gas per day production capacities
• 2 million barrels of oil storage capacity.

Keppel O&M pointed out that it will carry out the turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract at multiple locations globally. The company stated that it will fabricate the 43,000-metric-tonne (MT) topside modules at its shipyards in Singapore, China, and Brazil and undertake FPSO integration and commissioning works. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI) (267250.KS) will provide the 85,000-MT hull and 240-person living quarters, Keppel O&M noted. The completed FPSO will transit to the Buzios field, where Keppel O&M will conduct the final offshore commissioning phase, the firm added.

Ong pointed out the P-78 award aligns with Keppel O&M’s “transformation plans” under which it will not perform all the work at its yards.

“We are excited to partner with industry leaders like HHI and DORIS Engenharia in Brazil, harnessing our complementary strengths and enabling Keppel O&M to expand our turnkey offerings across the value chain,” commented Ong. “At the same time, we are able to utilize our global network of operations and bring a sizeable amount of the work to Brazil, generating thousands of job opportunities for the local ecosystem.”

Integration and fabrication work is also underway for two other FPSOs at Keppel’s BrasFELS yard in Angra dos Reis, Brazil, Keppel O&M stated, adding those vessels will operate in the Sepia and Buzios fields.

Keppel O&M noted that it anticipates a late-2024 completion for the P-78 FPSO.

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.