Japan: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation Receives Order for FPSO On-board CO2 Gas Compressors for MODEC


Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation (MCO), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has received an order for two carbon dioxide (CO2) gas injection compressors from Solar Turbines Incorporated of the U.S.

The compressors on order will be installed on a floating production, storage & offloading system (FPSO Cidade de Sao Paulo MV23) to be constructed by MODEC Inc. of Japan and used for CO2 capture & reinjection in the reservoir to enhance hydrocarbon recovery. The oil and gas FPSO will be deployed to BM-S-9 (Guara) Block in the giant “pre-salt” region of the Santos Basin (off the coast of Brazil). The BM-S-9 block is under concession to a consortium formed by Petrobras (45%), BG (30%), and Repsol (25%).. The order represents the first FPSO-use CO2 gas compressor order placed to MCO. The compressors are slated for delivery in March 2011.

The FPSO on-board gas-turbine driven offshore use compressors will be used to re-inject CO2 gas, which is separated and recovered during oil and gas production, into the oil field without emission into the air. The compressors on order have various special features enabling a structure suitable for offshore use where billowing and other unstable operating conditions are expected.

For the gas injection compressor system, Solar Turbine of the U.S. will manufacture the gas turbines and assemble them with compressors supplied by MCO. The compressor system will then be completed as a module, combined with other processing equipment, and installed on the FPSO for use off the coast of Brazil. The FPSO, which is slated to begin operation by the end of 2012, will have the capacity to produce 120,000 barrels of oil and 176.5 million cubic feet of gas per day and will be able to store 1.6 million barrels of oil.

MCO was established in April this year as a new company dedicated to the compressor business of MHI by integrating MHI’s compressor business operations and MHI’s wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for related after-sales services. MCO already holds a substantial market share in chemical plant applications, and it has been conducting marketing activities aggressively in quest to expand its business in resources and energy applications.

Besides enhanced oil recovery (EOR), another important application of CO2 gas compressors is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which is to capture CO2 from flue gas from plants, including thermal power generation plants, and sequester the CO2 in deep subsurfaces or oil reservoirs. Today this is garnering intense attention globally. In response, MCO considers the CO2 gas compressor to be a strategic product for the environment and energy sector, a market which are expected to grow significantly.

MCO believes that its track record delivering gas compressors to fertilizer plants and CCS applications, together with its proven expertise in the field, contributed to the awarding of the latest order. Leveraging this opportunity, the company will further strengthen its marketing activities of compressors for application in offshore oil and gas production facilities, including FPSO and stationed platforms.

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Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,September 22, 2010,