The hull of Brazil-bound FPSO Bacalhau has recently left the DSIC shipyard in China after 32 months of work. It will move to Singapore for topside module integration before heading out to Brazil where it will be deployed at a giant Equinor-operated offshore oil project.
Norwegian oil and gas company Equnior made a final investment decision to develop the Bacalhau field offshore Brazil in June 2021.
The development of the field located in the Santos Basin will cost around $8 billion.
The development includes 19 subsea wells that will be tied back to an FPSO to be supplied by MODEC.
Qiang Guo, site manager for the Bacalhau project in Dalian, China said:"Since the first steel cut in 2020, there have been almost 8,000 workers involved in all sectors of the FPSO Bacalhau hull and accommodation project. I am pleased to say that everyone has returned home safely every day."
With capacity to produce 220,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), the FPSO Bacalhau will be integrated with the topsides modules in Singapore, and then proceed to operation in the Santos Basin.
"Despite the challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we overcame it together, with strong collaboration from everyone involved in this delivery. We are proud to have accomplished a true teamwork with the team from MODEC and DSIC Shipyard! We still have a lot of work ahead of us, however, winning this stage ensuring the safety of all people was a great achievement," Equinor said.
The Bacalhau (Portuguese for cod) project is operated by Equinor in partnership with ExxonMobil, Petrogal Brasil S.A. and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA).
The first oil production is planned for 2024.