Petrobras installs reservoir monitoring grid in Brazilian ultra-deepwater field

The onboard spread features a wheeled horizontal lay system (WHLS), Generation-2 reel drive system (RDS) and four tensioners ranging from 12 tonnes up to 110 tonnes of line pull capacity. MDL’s spread also includes several hydraulic winches ranging between 5 tonnes and 30 tonnes.

The back-deck arrangement of the tensioners and custom deflectors, engineered by Maersk Supply Service and MDL together, supports optimised handling to minimise stress on the multiple products and the simultaneous installation of the pigtail lines.

MDL said the large-capacity tensioner, combined with the WHLS frictionless wheel mechanism, helped low-friction deployment of the dynamic riser assembly and connected pigtails, reducing drag and ensuring optimal product integrity during installation.

“This first-of-a-kind operation was extremely challenging due to the requirement to handle and install five individual cables simultaneously, in water depths up to 2,500 m,” said MDL senior project manager Euan Crichton.

“The challenge was made greater by the lines being preterminated in a single DUTA at one end and connected to the same reel at the opposite end.”

Operations were on the unitised Mero field, conducted by a consortium operated by Petrobras, which owns 38.6%. It is in partnership with Shell (19.3%), TotalEnergies (19.3%), CNPC (9.65%), CNOOC (9.65%) and Pre-Salt Petroleo (3.5%), which manages the production sharing contract and represents the Brazilian government in the non-contracted area.

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