Yinson Production’s third Brazil-bound FPSO is on its way to South America (Gallery)

Yinson Production, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based energy infrastructure and technology company Yinson Holdings, has confirmed the departure of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel from a Chinese shipyard. This FPSO is now sailing toward South America, where it is expected to be deployed off the coast of Brazil.

Yinson Production secured a deal with Petrobras for the supply, operation, and maintenance of the FPSO Maria Quitéria in February 2022. Come August 2023, the Malaysian player got hold of a $230 million term loan facility for the FPSO conversion project. The vessel set sail for Brazil on Tuesday, May 7, following a grand naming ceremony held at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Shanghai) Shipyard in China on April 3, 2024.

“This significant milestone has been made possible due to the dedication and unwavering support amongst our team, partners, and client. Together, we are advancing our commitment to the offshore operations in Brazil. Yinson Production continues to maintain the highest safety standards, with the project achieving over 20 million man-hours without lost time incidents,” highlighted the Malaysian FPSO giant.

The FPSO Maria Quitéria is the firm’s third vessel destined for Brazil. The other two are the FPSO Anna Nery, which has been operating for Petrobras since May 2023, and the FPSO Atlanta – currently making its way to Brazil with the first oil expected in the summer of 2024 at Enauta Energia’s field.

The FPSO Maria Quitéria is slated to arrive at the Jubarte field in the northern part of the Campos Basin during the second quarter of 2024. According to the company, this is the first vessel in its fleet to feature heat recovery steam generation (HRSG) as part of the combined cycle power generation system.

“We believe that the HRSG, along with the other technologies we are implementing, will play an integral role in our decarbonisation efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions in the FPSO industry,” emphasized Yinson Production.

The FPSO Maria Quitéria will be deployed at the Parque das Baleias integrated project under a 22.5-year lease and operate contract with a total contract value of up to $5.3 billion. The Parque das Baleias area is formed by the Jubarte, Baleia Anã, Cachalote, Caxaréu, Pirambú, and Mangangá fields.

The Petrobras-operated Jubarte field, which lies at a water depth of approximately 1,300 meters, was discovered in 2001 in the northern Campos Basin, around 80 kilometers off the coast of Anchieta, Espírito Santo, Brazil. 

Yinson Production is hard at work to bring new FPSOs to life. In line with this, the firm obtained a limited recourse term loan facility of up to $1.3 billion with a consortium of 13 lenders recently for the pre-and post-delivery financing of another FPSO destined to operate off the coast of Angola.