Petrobas Awards Sepia Field Contract


McDermott to Deliver EPCI

Brazilian oil major Petrobras has awarded a contract for the first phase of development at the Sepia field to offshore engineering specialist McDermott.
 
Scope of work will involve extensive breakbulk transport to the site 280 kilometers from the Rio de Janeiro coastline in Brazil.
 
"We will use our first-class assets and proven track record to deliver the highest levels of safety, quality and cost-efficiency during the first phase of this important greenfield development,” said Mark Coscio, McDermott's senior vice president for North, Central and South America.
 

FPSO Carioca
 
The project will involve detailed engineering, surveys, supply, installation and pre-commissioning of rigid pipelines, jumpers, buoyance modules, strakes and riser monitoring systems for seven-riser wells. This will include three producer and four injector wells that will be connected to the floating production, storage and offloading Carioca vessel.

“McDermott's Rio de Janeiro office will perform the work with support from its Houston office,” a spokesperson for McDermott said.

McDermott plans to use five vessels for the installation work at ultra-deepwater depths up to 2,140 meters.
 

Opportunity for Growth

Engineering work for the project is expected to begin immediately, with McDermott predicting near-term growth in the Brazilian market as deepwater development spurs further breakbulk demand.

“McDermott has had a strong presence in Brazil going back more than four decades, and we see tremendous opportunity for growth in the region," Coscio added.
 
Petrobas has long struggled to excite the market as it has been dogged by corruption and lackluster results, but with output forecasts now improving and cost-cuttting intiatives coming into effect the company now sees the outlook improving.
 
“[Breakeven cost] is more competitive and doing very well compared to anyone in deep water or tight oil plays,” said Rudimar Lorenzatto, production and technology development director for Petrobras.

Headquartered in Texas, McDermott is one of the largest integrated onshore-offshore engineering, procurement and construction companies in the world following its US$6 billion merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron.
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