Tognum Signs Contract to Supply Generators for 8 FPSOs in Brazil

MTU do Brasil, a wholly-owned Tognum Group subsidiary in South America, has been awarded a contract to supply 16 generator sets for eight floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. The contract value is in the low double-digit million US dollar range.

The Brazilian oil and gas producer Petrobras will operate the vessels for servicing oil and gas rigs along the Brazilian coast. The direct MTU customer is the Brazilian ship yard Engevix that will build the vessels over the next six years. These FPSOs will be the first ones to be manufactured in Brazil. The generator sets will be powered by MTU 16V 4000 P83 diesel engines and were chosen for their compact size, low fuel consumption and reputation for durability and reliability.

“In terms of the global energy supply, Brazil is a main area of focus,” said Peter Kneipp, Tognum COO of the business unit Engines. “This contract award for MTU do Brasil proves that Tognum’s strategic investment in Brazil and in MTU’s oil and gas product portfolio was well founded and has given MTU a solid foothold in this important market.”

Two generator sets with 1,800 kW power output each will be used on each vessel: the first as emergency standby generator set and the second as auxiliary generator set. The auxiliary generator will operate in parallel with the ship’s 100 MW gas-turbine generating system and provide “black start” capabilities. The emergency standby generator set will be used to back up general electrical systems on the ship in the event that the main source of power is lost.

The first two generator sets will be delivered to Engevix in September 2011. Work on the first vessel is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2012.

“A special aspect of this project is that Petrobras and the Brazilian government have mandated that at least 60 percent of the components in the generator sets will be manufactured in Brazil,” says Adolfo Soifer, Managing Director of MTU do Brasil. “By partnering with local suppliers, we are able to utilize the highly reliable MTU 16V 4000 P83 engines that were manufactured in Germany and then locally add Brazilian-made components to build complete generator sets that meet the local-content mandate.”

Over the past four years, MTU do Brasil has supplied generator sets with MTU engines for five other Petrobras projects – offshore and onshore. Soifer says that the Brazilian oil and gas industry is currently growing very rapidly. He adds that the sales over the past years have positioned the company as a major supplier of engines and generator sets for oil and gas applications in South America.

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Source: Tognum, May 25, 2011.