Subsea 7 has been involved with the development of Brazilian subsea systems for over 20 years and is still making its strong presence felt in the market.
The development of subsea systems in Brazil can be said to walk hand in hand with Subsea 7, as they were one of the first if not the first company specialized in subsea systems to open a subsidiary in Brazil.
Their offices in Niteroi have become part of the scenery, as Subsea 7 has been operating from there for many years and even have their own dock.
As one of their recent accomplishments we can highlight the completion of offshore works in the BC-10 Subsea Field Development Project for Shell. It took more than two and half years of work welding and installing 20 km of steel catenary risers, 7 butt joints, 134 km of flowlines, 57 km of umbilicals, 25 rigid jumpers and 4 manifolds. All this scope took 450 days of operation in their Ubu pipe manufacturing base and 770 days of the three vessels, Seven Oceans, Seven Seas and Seisranger.
Another important milestone of thier operations is the completion of the directional hole for the beach approach of the Sul Capixaba pipeline.
In January 2008, Subsea 7 was awarded an EPIC contract with Petrobras, in the Espirito Santo Basin offshore Brazil for the design, engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of the Sul Capixaba Export Gas Pipeline and end termination assembly in the Jubarte field, with a contract value of $200 million.
In August 2009, Subsea 7 was awarded a long-term contract by Petrobras for the exclusive use of its pipelay vessel, the Normand Seven, for a period of four years, commencing in the third quarter of 2009, with a contract value of $250 million.
The Normand Seven is a state-of-the-art pipelay vessel fitted with an advanced flexible pipelay system capable of operating in water depths of up to 2,000m. She joined the Subsea 7 fleet immediately after her commissioning in 2007 and has worked continuously in Brazil since that time, primarily supporting Petrobras in the development of the Roncador field in the Campos basin.
In October 2009, Subsea 7 was awarded another contract by Petrobras to engineer, procure, fabricate, install and commission one 12” gas export line and one 12” oil export line connecting the P-55 platform to the PRA-1 platform in the Roncador field, at the Campos Basin with a contract value: $200 million.
The scope of work also includes the procurement and installation of associated subsea equipment. The Roncador field has water depths ranging from 200 to 1,800 meters.
The offshore pipelines and equipment installation campaign will take place between the third quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of 2011 and will be carried out by one of Subsea 7´s pipelay installation vessels.
Engineering and project management work will be conducted at Subsea 7´s offices in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, and the fabrication of the rigid pipelines will be carried out at Subsea 7´s pipeline fabrication spoolbase at Ubu, Brazil.
Victor Snabaitis Bomfim, Vice President of Subsea 7 in Brazil stated: "I am delighted that Petrobras has chosen Subsea 7 once again to perform this very significant project for the development of the Roncador field. This award further strengthens our position in the steel pipeline installation marketplace and is a result of our long term commitment to the country."
Subsea 7 not only made and still makes important contributions to the development of subsea systems in Brazil but is also one of the few, Petrobras, Subsea Partner of Choice.
Though their many years of continuous involvement in Brazil they have built a very strong local presence, and have earned the respect from all those involved in the Brazilian subsea systems development.
Claudio Paschoa
Photo courtesy of Subsea 7 Brasil