Keppel Shipyard has won a tender from Brazilian oil major Petrobras to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of P-83, a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The contract is worth around US$2.8 billion.

Scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2027, P-83 is a repeat order of the P-80 FPSO that Keppel Offshore & Marine secured in August this year.

The contract will be on progressive milestone payments and brings the Keppel O&M orderbook to S$11.8 billion (US$8.26 billion) as at September 28 2022. Keppel Shipyard is a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel O&M.

As a repeated order, P-83 will be identical to P-80 in specifications and execution methodology. The fabrication of the topside modules will be replicated across Keppel O&M’s facilities in Singapore, China and Brazil, while the construction of the hull and accommodation module will be done by CIMC Raffles in China.

Integration of the separate components will be carried out in Singapore, with the final phase of offshore commissioning works undertaken by Keppel O&M when the FPSO arrives at the offshore Brazil field.

The P-83 will be the third FPSO that Keppel O&M is building for Petrobras for its Buzios field. In addition to P-80, Keppel O&M is currently working on the P-78 FPSO which was awarded in May 2021.

When completed, the FPSOs will be among the largest floating production units in the world. The P-83 has a production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), water injection capacity of 250,000 bpd, 12 million cubic metres of (Sm3/d) of gas processing per day and a storage capacity of two million barrels of oil.

“As the P-83 and P-80 are identical units, greater economies of scale and productivity gains can be expected as we are able to further optimise the engineering and construction process," says Keppel O&M chief executive officer Chris Ong.

Petrobras operates the world’s largest carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) programme. The P-83, P-80, and P-78 FPSOs will be equipped with green technologies such as CCUS to separate the carbon and reinject it back into the reservoir where it is stored, thereby minimizing the need for gas flaring.

The FPSOs will also feature energy recovery systems for thermal energy, waste heat and gas, as well as seawater deaeration to reduce the vessels‘ fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

Keppel O&M has delivered a significant number of projects for Brazil and Petrobras over the years. BrasFELS, Keppel O&M’s yard in Angra dos Reis, Brazil, is currently undertaking integration and fabrication work for two other FPSOs that will operate in the Sepia field and Buzios field.