Brazil Orders US$ 1.2 Billion Deep-Sea Oil Rig from Swiss Firm

Petrobras, the Brazilian government controlled oil multinational, signed a contract with Swiss company Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) to build a high seas oil rig to operate at a water depth of 1,246 meters (4,088 feet) and which will cost in the range of US$ 1.2 billion and be delivered in three years time.

The 92.000 ton Platform P-57 planned to be installed in the Jubarte Field, offshore Espí­rito Santo, and north of Rio do Janeiro is capable of producing 180,000 barrels of oil and of compressing 2,000,000 cubic meters of gas per day. Additionally the FPSO-type platform can also store oil.

According to the contract, Brazilian input in the construction of the rig was established at 65% except for the hull's conversion to be performed in Singapore, and for the purchase of large machinery.

Most of the modules and the platform's integration (hull and modules) will be done at the Brasfels shipyard, in Angra dos Reis, state of Rio de Janeiro. The construction is expected to create 3.000 jobs.

The contractor will provide the Island Accord oil tanker for the conversion and will use its own basic model, adapted from projects used for chartered vessels, in the process. After completing the construction, SBM will operate the P-57 for three years, as a contractor, for $63.55 million.

The P-57 project is a crucial piece in Petrobras 2020 Strategic Plan which has a target production by 2015 of 3.455 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and natural gas per day.

Mercopress