Aker Solutions has signed a contract with Petrobras to provide a subsea production system and related services for the Mero 1 project within the Mero field development, one of the largest oil discoveries in the pre-salt area in Brazil.

Petrobras contracts subsea production system will consist of 12 vertical subsea trees from Aker designed for the Brazilian pre-salt, announcement made today(5). There will be four subsea distribution units, three topside master control stations for FPSO Mero 1 Guanabara and spare parts. The order also includes installation and commissioning support services.

“We are pleased to become a major supplier to Petrobras and its partners for the first full production project of this major development,” said Luis Araújo, CEO of Aker Solutions. “We have an extensive local workforce and over 40 years of experience in Brazil and look forward to continuing to play an important role in developing the country's pre-salt resources,” he added.

Macaé, Rio das Ostras and São José dos Pinhais

Aker Solutions' subsea products factory in São José dos Pinhais and its subsea service base in Rio das Ostras, on the border with Macaé, will carry out the manufacturing work. Work has already started and deliveries are scheduled for 2020. Installations are scheduled between 2020 and 2023.

The subsea production system will be connected to Mero's first floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, known as the Guanabara FPSO. The FPSO is scheduled to come on stream in 2021 and will have the capacity to process up to 180.000 barrels of oil per day and 12 million cubic meters of gas per day.

The Mero field, in ultra-deep waters, is located in the northwest area of ​​the original Libra block, which is about 180 kilometers south of Rio de Janeiro. The first oil was produced in November last year. A Petrobras is the operator of the consortium that develops the Libra area. Shell, Total, CNPC and CNOOC Limited are partners. Pre-Sal Petróleo SA (PPSA) manages the Production Sharing Agreement.

The companies do not disclose the value of the contract. The order will be booked in the third quarter of 2018.