Brazil's offshore construction specialist, Estaleiros do Brasil Ltda. (EBR), was selected by the Japanese MODEC for the manufacture and assembly of several topside process modules for the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, the FPSO Guanabara MV31.

As we had announced, Modec was negotiating with the EBR to build modules . EBR informed that the scope of work to be carried out at its shipyard, located in the city of São José do Norte, in Rio Grande do Sul, includes the manufacture and assembly of modules that make up the water treatment system on the topsides of the FPSO. The project will start in the first quarter of 2019 with a twelve-month delivery schedule, the company added.

The FPSO Guanabara MV31, currently under construction by MODEC, will be contracted by Petrobras through a lease and operation contract for the Mero field, where the FPSO unit will be installed. The FPSO is expected to be deployed in the Mero field in 2021 and the lease is for 22 years.

The Mero field is located approximately 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, at a water depth of approximately 2.100 meters. It is currently being developed by the Libra Consortium, made up of Petrobras (operator), Shell, Total, CNPC and CNOOC. The Libra Production Sharing Agreement is managed by Pré-Sal Petróleo SA (PPSA).

According to EBR, when completed, the FPSO Guanabara MV31 will have a processing capacity of up to 180.000 barrels of oil per day and 12 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Sateesh Dev, President and CEO of MODEC Offshore Production Systems, said: “Following a detailed request for proposal and clarification process, MODEC is pleased to have selected EBR for this scope of work on the first FPSO unit delivered to Petrobras and the Consortium. Libra, for the pre-salt Mero field in the Santos Basin”.