SBM Offshore: FPSO Cidade de Marica arrives in Brazil, moors at Brasa

Brasa shipyard, Niteroi, Brazil. Aerial view of yard and modules being constructed for FPSOs Cidade de Marica and Cidade de Saquarema
Brasa shipyard, Niteroi, Brazil. Aerial view of yard and modules being constructed for FPSOs Cidade de Marica and Cidade de Saquarema

SBM Offshore, the world’s largest provider of FPSO units, informed that the FPSO Cidade de Maricá has moored at Brasa shipyard in Brazil. 

The SBM Offshore vessel berthed at the Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro-based yard on July 9, 2015. The vessel had arrived in Brazilian waters mid-June, following her 10,625 Nm (19,678 Km) voyage from China.

FPSO Cidade de Maricá is one of two carbon-copy FPSOs being constructed from the blueprint for FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela, the mother ship, which sailed from Brasa to start production in November 2014. The FPSO is the deepest in SBM’s operating fleet at 2,140m and has the largest capacity at 150,000 bpd of oil.

SBM Offshore Chief Operating Officer, Philippe Barril, commented: “We are happy with the progress to date on Maricá and we look forward to the delivery of the FPSO to our client once the BRASA scope is completed. We expect her to follow in the footsteps of her mother ship FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela, which has been successfully producing offshore Brazil for eight months and is an example of the world-class standards to which SBM aspires. All our teams are working hard to achieve our delivery target for Maricá, the third pre-salt FPSO in the series of four that SBM is providing to Petrobras.”

Project Director John Perkins said: “The arrival of FPSO Cidade de Maricá to BRASA represents a newsworthy milestone for SBM Offshore and a further step on the road to delivery. It demonstrates SBM’s effective global project management for her conversion, which is being jointly conducted from our Regional Centres in Holland, Monaco and Brazil. As a joint venture partner with Synergy in BRASA shipyard, SBM is very proud to welcome her to the quayside for the final integration of her modules.”

Conversion work on the hull and some module integration was completed in China before she set sail in April 2015 for Brazil. Cidade de Maricá is the second FPSO to moor and be integrated at BRASA shipyard since it opened in 2012.

Project Manager Martijn Kleijn said: “Integration of the hull and topsides will take place at BRASA where some of the modules have also been fabricated. The yard is ready to begin the module lifting phase using the yard’s Pelicano-1 barge crane. Additional modules were constructed and delivered by EBSE, a Rio yard that SBM works closely with as part of its development of local content solutions.”

Destined for Lula

The FPSO Cidade de Maricá is destined for the Lula field in the pre-salt province offshore Brazil. BM-S-11 block is under concession to a consortium comprised of PETROBRAS (65%), BG E&P Brasil Ltda. (25%), and Petrogal Brasil S.A. (10%). Her sister ship – FPSO Cidade de Saquaremawhich is currently in the CXG yard in China from where Maricá sailed – is also destined for the same field and is being converted in parallel. Planned delivery for FPSOs Cidade de Maricá and Cidade de Saquarema is expected respectively by end 2015 and early 2016. SBM Offshore’s contract with BM-S-11 subsidiary Tupi BV is for the twenty-year charter and operation of the two FPSOs.

The FPSOs are owned and will be operated by a Joint Venture owned by affiliated companies of SBM Offshore, Mitsubishi Corporation, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, and Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A. in which SBM Offshore shareholding is 56%.