SBM Offshore has been contracted by Tupi BV BM-S-11 subsidiary, for a twenty-year charter and operation of two of its FPSOs, Cidade de Maricà and Cidade de Saquarema. Both the FPSOs are destined for the Lula field in the pre-salt province offshore Brazil. BM-S-11 block is under concession to a consortium comprised of Petrobras (65%), BG E&P Brasil (25%) and Petrogal Brasil (10%).
The FPSOs will be owned and operated by a joint venture owned by affiliated companies of SBM Offshore, Mitsubishi Corporation, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, and Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás, where SBM Offshore will have a 56% shareholding.
SBM Offshore is in charge of the construction of the two FPSOs. They will be direct copies of the Cidade de Ilhabela FPSO—the first of four state-of-the-art, pre-salt FPSOs to start production offshore Brazil next year. The FPSOs Cidade de Maricà and Cidade de Saquarema are expected to be delivered by end 2015 and early 2016 respectively. The total contract value for the project is approximately USD 3.5B.
Mr Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore commented, “We are delighted to confirm the contract within such a short interval after the letter of intent. It is a sign of the commitment of both Petrobras and SBM to successfully fast track this project. The FPSO teams—comprised of our most experienced personnel—have ramped up in record time since reception of the LOI and we are pleased to proceed with the official green light to full execution of the project.”
