COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Dalian) has delivered the first FPSO conversion project to be completed in 2020
Based on the hull of 2004-built, Daewoo-constructed VLCC Flandre, the 305,700-dwt FPSO is destined for operations in Brazil.
Under the new name FPSO Carioca MV30, it will be deployed at the Sépia field operated by Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), located in the giant pre-salt region of the Santos Basin some 250 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at a water depth approximately 2,200 m.
Japan-headquartered general contractor of floating production systems MODEC is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, mobilisation, installation and operation of the FPSO, including topsides, processing equipment and hull and marine systems. A MODEC group company SOFEC, Inc will design and supply the spread mooring system.
FPSO Carioca MV30 is capable of processing 180,000 bbls of crude oil per day, 212M m3 of gas per day, 240,000 bbls of water injection per day and has storage capacity of 1.4 bbls of crude oil.
This is the 13th FPSO/FSO vessel MODEC will provide in Brazil, and MODEC’s 6th FPSO in the pre-salt following FPSO Cidade de Angra dos Reis MV22, FPSO Cidade de São Paulo MV23, FPSO Cidade de Mangaratiba MV24, FPSO Cidade de Itaguaí MV26 and FPSO Cidade de Caraguatatuba MV27, which achieved first oil production in December 2016.
The FPSO will be delivered with Brazilian local content following MODEC’s successful experience running projects in the country.
FPSO Carioca MV30 is 332 m long, 58 m wide and has a draught of 31 m with a displacement of 306,000 tonnes. As the world’s newest FPSO, it integrates production processing, storage, unloading, accommodation and production command, and can accommodate 160 people. The project can operate continuously in the oil field for 26 years without docking for maintenance, which is a veritable "giant offshore oil processing factory".
In 2020, due to the impact of Covid-19, the Carioca MV30 project faced many difficulties and challenges, reports COSCO Dalian.
The yard used "cloud office and cloud meetings" to overcome communication problems due to the outbreak, and worked in accordance with the requirements of disease prevention and control, using personnel planning and organisation to ensure the timely delivery of the project.
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