Marica moors at BRASA following FPSO’s arrival in Brazil

NITEROI, Brazil -- There was a buzz at BRASA as it celebrated the arrival of FPSO Cidade de Marica. The SBM Offshore vessel berthed safely at the Niteroi-Rio based yard on July 9. She had arrived in Brazilian waters mid-June, following her 10,625 nautical mile voyage from China.

FPSO Cidade de Marica is one of two carbon-copy FPSOs being constructed from the blueprint for FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela, the mother ship, which sailed from Brasa to commence production in November 2014. The FPSO has the largest capacity in SBM's operating fleet at 150,000 bopd.

Just returned from an onboard visit to FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela, SBM Offshore, COO, Philippe Barril commented, “We are happy with the progress to date on Maricá and we look forward to the delivery of the FPSO to our client once the BRASA scope is completed. We expect her to follow in the footsteps of her mother ship FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela, which has been successfully producing offshore Brazil for eight months and is an example of the world-class standards to which SBM aspires. All our teams are working hard to achieve our delivery target for Maricá, the third pre-salt FPSO in the series of four that SBM is providing to Petrobras.”

Project Director John Perkins says, “The arrival of FPSO Cidade de Maricá to BRASA represents a newsworthy milestone for SBM Offshore and a further step on the road to delivery. It demonstrates SBM’s effective global project management for her conversion, which is being jointly conducted from our Regional Centres in Holland, Monaco and Brazil. As a joint venture partner with Synergy in BRASA shipyard, SBM is very proud to welcome her to the quayside for the final integration of her modules.”

Conversion work on the hull and some module integration was completed in China before she set sail in April 2015 for Brazil. Cidade de Marica is the second FPSO to moor and be integrated at BRASA shipyard since it opened in 2012.

Project Manager Martijn Kleijn says, “Integration of the hull and topsides will take place at BRASA where some of the modules have also been fabricated. The yard is ready to begin the module lifting phase using the yard’s Pelicano-1 barge crane. Additional modules were constructed and delivered by EBSE, a Rio yard that SBM works closely with as part of its development of local content solutions.”

The FPSO Cidade de Maricá is destined for Lula field in the pre-salt province offshore Brazil. Block BM-S-11 is under concession to a consortium comprised of Petrobras (65%), BG E&P Brasil Ltda. (25%), and Petrogal Brasil S.A. (10%). Her sister ship -- FPSO Cidade de Saquarema, which is currently in the CXG yard in China from where Maricá sailed -- is also destined for the same field and is being converted in parallel. Planned delivery for FPSOs Cidade de Maricá and Cidade de Saquarema is expected by the end of 2015 and early 2016, respectively. SBM Offshore’s contract with BM-S-11 subsidiary Tupi BV is for the twenty-year charter and operation of the two FPSOs.

The FPSOs are owned and will be operated by a joint venture owned by affiliated companies of SBM Offshore, Mitsubishi Corporation, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, and Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A. in which SBM Offshore shareholding is 56%. The twin FPSOs will benefit from the technological expertise that SBM Offshore acquired during the successful conversion and operational experience of FPSO Cidade de Ilhabela and FPSO Cidade de Paraty.