(TN) In February, Constellation and Sapura concluded an unprecedented operation to change the thruster at sea on the Laguna Star drillship, under contract with Petrobras, around 200km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
The operation, in a water depth of more than 2,000 meters, was carried out without the need for the drilling unit to be brought to shore, providing a reduction in downtime, as well as greater safety, since which demands fewer divers and working time from the professionals involved.
The maneuver was considered a milestone for the Brazilian offshore oil and gas industry. Until then, azimuthal thruster replacement activities in the country were only carried out in sheltered waters. The equipment, which weighs around 61 tons, is a propulsion item for the drillship and provides the dynamic positioning system with thrust force and direction.
“The knowledge we have acquired over more than 40 years of operation on the Brazilian coast, covering technical and operational challenges, enabled us to carry out this pioneering maneuver with excellence and safety. We are proud to participate in breaking yet another paradigm for the oil and gas in the country”, highlights Rodrigo Ribeiro, CEO of Constellation.
The procedure generated substantial financial savings for Constellation and reduced diving man-hours by almost 150 times, an activity with high risk exposure. Six divers were mobilized – replacement in sheltered waters would require around 60 professionals, as additional interventions on the hull would be required.
Previous tests on the positioning of the maneuver and engineering studies, wave movement and wind speed were necessary. The operation lasted 40 hours and involved four vessels: the Laguna Star, the line launch vessel PLSV Sapura Ônix, the AHTS tug CBO Valletta and the dive boat Miami Blue. During the intervention to replace the equipment, the ships Laguna Star and Sapura Ônix were positioned at a distance of just 15 meters from each other.
“Sapura is immensely proud to include this work in our list of pioneering engineering projects. It represented a challenge that required extensive research, dedication and commitment from our team. And, once again, we demonstrate that we are committed to overcoming challenges, prioritizing safety and excellence. I sincerely thank the teams involved in the project, which has already left its mark on the history of Sapura and the entire sector”, says Rogerio Salbego, CEO of Sapura.
Sapura Ônix is a vessel designed for launching and handling flexible pipelines, but which has been improved to handle special underwater engineering projects, just like the rest of the Sapura fleet. With two remotely controlled underwater vehicles (ROV), it can operate in waters up to 3,000 meters deep. The Laguna Star is an ultra-deepwater DP drillship designed to operate in waters with depths of up to 10,000 feet, typical of the pre-salt, with a drilling depth capacity of up to 40,000 feet.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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