The P-61 platform left the BrasFels shipyard in the Angra dos Reis bay where the unit was built and assembled. The unit will make a technical stop for diesel and water near Ilha Grande and continue on to its final location, the Papa-Terra field in the Campos Basin. The journey will take about six days after leaving the shipyard.
This is the first Tension Leg Wellhead Platform (TLWP) to be built and operated in Brazil. The TLWP model resembles a semisubmersible (SS), except that it uses vertical tendons to anchor it instead of the standard mooring lines. The deck and four modules were built in Singapore, Asia. They were brought to the BrasFels Shipyard, where BrasFels built the hull and was responsible for joining them and integrating various parts.
The P-61 will operate together with the P-63 FPSO unit, which started oil production in Papa-Terra in November 2013. All the P-61 production will be transferred to the P-63 to process, store and offload extracted oil to shuttle tankers. Together, the units have the capacity to produce 140,000 barrels of oil per day from the 18 wells.
