Auctions of Petrobras platforms can alleviate the situation of shipyards stopped in Brazil and according to the ANP, around 20 units will be decommissioned from 2021.

Tomorrow (24/07), the big auction will take place, organized by the auctioneer João Emilio, of the Petrobras platforms, P-7, P-12 and P-15 and the ANP estimates that it will be the great start for the development of a very promising industry in Brazil: that of decommissioning. Resumption of shipbuilding! Petrobras will again manufacture its own FPSO's and EBR shipyard is one of the pre-qualified

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According to data from the agency, in Brazil alone, there are around 160 offshore platforms operating in Brazil and approximately 42% of them have been operating for over 25 years.

Of this total, 74 platforms are fixed and have already been scheduled for decommissioning, with between 15 and 20 even having a notification issued to the ANP that they will be decommissioned as of 2021.

Opportunities for shipyards

According to a study by COPPE/UFRJ, Brazil will decommission 60 offshore installations and around 165 wells over the next 3 to 5 years.

This fact will trigger a demand for the dismantling of offshore units, which will certainly encourage an activity that has not been explored by our shipyards until now.

The crisis in Brazilian shipbuilding intensified from 2014 and today we have several large national shipyards in a situation of judicial recovery.

Concerned about this scenario, SOBENA created a Technical Committee to study the Dismantling of Ships and Decommissioning of Platforms, with the aim of debating technologies and best practices, and has been holding workshops and webinars on these topics in these times of pandemic.

Regarding the decommissioning of fixed platforms informed by the ANP, the activity can be carried out as follows: Complete Removal; Partial Removal; Tipping on Site; Reuse and Leave in Place for Alternative Uses.

All these alternatives will require the development of technologies and techniques that minimize the effects on the environment in accordance with the international IMO standard, with constant concern for where and how to deposit the generated scrap, how to resolve the issue of Coral-Sol that we have already addressed in another article here at CPG  and even how to dispose of naturally occurring radioactive materials such as Radium, Boron, Strontium, Pb-210, and others.