Ampelmann supports SBM Offshore FPSO work in Brazil

Dutch offshore access solutions provider Ampelmann has been awarded a contract by SBM Offshore in support of an FPSO maintenance campaign in the Espírito Santo Basin offshore Brazil.

Ampelmann said on Monday that the contract entails the provision of an E-type gangway system in January 2017, with a scope that includes transport, importation, engineering, and provision of offshore access services.

Sander Groenteman, Business Development Manager for Brazil, said: “After two successful FPSO campaigns in Brazil last year, it is very positive to see the demand for our services continuing to grow. We are extremely pleased that SBM has chosen Ampelmann as their partner in this particular project and we look forward to building a strong business relationship with SBM going forward.”

The Ampelmann E-type system is the largest fully active compensated system within the company’s portfolio. It has already performed in Brazilian waters where wave heights reach above 4.5 meters. Over the course of two recent Brazilian projects in the last 12 months, Ampelmann provided over 15,000 safe transfers.

The E-type debuted in Brazil back in December of 2015 after Ampelmann won its first contract in Brazil from Boskalis in support of an extended FPSO maintenance campaign.

The company has not disclosed any further information or the financial details regarding the deal.

The Espirito Santo basin has 40 producing fields and extends from the Cumuruxatiba basin on the north down to Alto de Vitória, in the Santos basin. A small part of the basin is a mature onshore basin while the offshore portion is almost ten times larger.

Exploratory history in this basin dates back to the ’50s through gravimetric and seismic surveys with Sao Mateus field being the first commercial oil accumulation in the area to be discovered. The deepwater fields discovered in the early 2000s account for the majority of proved reserves in the basin.