FPSO Bacalhau takes shape with the completion of topsides installation

(PN) A new giant of the Brazilian seas is taking shape. Equinor announced that it has completed the installation of the topside of the FPSO Bacalhau, which will be installed in the field of the same name, in the pre-salt of the Santos Basin. The topside is the structure at the top of the ship’s hull and is responsible for processing oil and gas.

The work on the ship is being led by the Japanese company Modec. The construction of the hull took place at the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) shipyard in China. In June last year, the vessel left for the Jurong shipyard, in Singapore, where the modules were integrated. The commissioning of the unit will also take place there. The first oil from the FPSO is scheduled for 2025.

With a production capacity of 220 thousand barrels per day, which is equivalent to an onshore oil and gas processing plant with an area of 10 square kilometers, the weight of the upper oil and gas treatment module of the FPSO Bacalhau reaches 50 a thousand tons. The entire vessel has up to 34 thousand tubes, weighing about 4 thousand tons, and the total length of the cables is about 800 thousand meters.

The Bacalhau field is operated by the Norwegian oil company Equinor (40%), in partnership with ExxonMobil (40%), Petrogal Brasil (20%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A (PPSA, manager of the sharing contract; not an investor). Modec was hired by the consortium to conduct the engineering, acquisition, construction and installation of the vessel. The Bacalhau FPSO will be operated by Modec during its first year of activities. Equinor will then take control of the facility until the end of the license period.