The topside modules for the giant Bacalhau floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit have started the journey to Singapore where they will be integrated with the hull before heading for an assignment to Equinor-operated oil project offshore Brazil.
The 22,000 tons of newly constructed modules, designed and built by Norwegian firm Aibel, have left its yard in Thailand.
The modules will be installed on board the Bacalhau FPSO in Singapore, whose hull was delivered in July 2023 from DISC shipyard in China.
Following integration, the complete vessel will be delivered by MODEC to end-client and operator Equinor.
It will be one of the world’s largest FPSOs and is to be deployed at the Bacalhau field off the coast of Brazil.
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 the Bacalhau FPSO, whose production capacity is 220,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
Aside from Equinor, the Bacalhau project includes ExxonMobil, Petrogal Brasil S.A. and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA). The first oil production is planned for 2024.