New Jersey firm to back Petrobras’ oil and gas fiber network project

New Jersey-headquartered Pioneer Consulting has been appointed to assist with the deployment of Petrobras’ Malha Óptica system in Brazil which will comprise a 1,200-kilometer oil and gas fiber network.

Under the contract signed with the Zemax-Planova Consortium, Pioneer Consulting will provide support for route engineering, quality and documentation, contractor and supplier management, and survey and installation oversight, in addition to handling all components of the marine program related to the oil and gas platform hookups.

“We are very excited to help the Zemax-Planova Consortium make this project a reality,” said Gavin Tully, managing partner of Pioneer Consulting.

“Pioneer Consulting has significant experience working on commercial subsea telecom projects, but Malha Óptica gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in the field of O&G. Malha Óptica is set to become the world’s foremost O&G fiber optic system, and it’s an honor to play such a critical role in its deployment.”

The 1,200-kilometer oil and gas fiber network will link 13 floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) and one static platform with two cable landing stations in Praia Grande, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.

The project is expected to give Petrobras the possibility to almost triple the number of connected platforms over the system’s lifetime.

A marine survey is already underway for the project, while the system is expected to be ready for service by 2023.

“The Zemax-Planova Consortium has been trusted by Petrobras to build its Malha Óptica network, so it was important to us to have additional experience and expertise related to this unique type of undersea fiber optic system,” said Ronaldo Moidano, consotium’s project manager.

“We have all the usual challenges related to construction of an undersea fiber system, but with added complexities related to platform umbilicals, wet-mate connector assemblies, and other aspects which are unique to O&G networks.”