Energy and marine consultancy ABL Group has secured a contract by POSH Projects to act as tow master to support and supervise the towage of the Mero 3 FPSO from Yantai in China to Brazilian waters.
As part of its scope of work, ABL’s operations in Singapore will provide a tow master to act as client representative throughout the 12,108 nautical mile towage.
The tow master will supervise and ensure that all marine operations for the sail away from Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard are carried out in-line with approved recommendations and procedural documentation.
The FPSO, named Marechal Duque de Caxias, started its journey from China on February 24, 2024, MISC Group informed on social media.
Once in Brazil, the FPSO will be installed in the Mero field development, 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the deepwater Santos Basin.
“The towage of a 270-metre long FPSO with a gross tonnage of 150 thousand is a complex procedure. ABL’s vast marine experience across all types of marine operations globally in combination with our in-house multi-disciplinary engineering competence, makes us the right partner for such a project,” said Phong Chong Hui, ABL’s country manager in Singapore.
“Our client representative offering helps ensure that safety and quality standards are adhered to throughout the most complex procedures, mitigating unforeseen risk and cost impacting the bottom line of a project,” added Simon Healy, ABL’s regional managing director for the Asia Pacific region.
Built for water depths of approximately 2,070 meters, the Marechal Duque De Caxias FPSO is able to produce 28,600 Sm³/d of oil and 12 million Sm³/d of gas per day.
The FPSO is engineered for a 30-year operational lifespan without the need for dry docking, according to MISC Berhad.
It will be installed at Petrobras-operated Mero 3 field, which belongs to the Libra Block, as part of the development of the block's southern portion.