Brazil

Landmark: FMC CBV’s First Generation of Horizontal Subsea Trees

Project Overview

• Contract Award: 1996-2002
• Sales: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Fabrication: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Service Base: Macaé, Brazil
• Host Type: Semi and FPSO
• Contract Type: EPC

Project Characteristics

• No. Trees: 35 Module I (20 by FMC CBV)
• Water Depth: 850 to 2,400 m (2,800 to 7,900 ft)
• Tree Type: Vertical, Horizontal
• Tree Pressure: 5,000 psi
• Tree Bore Size: 4"x2", 5"x1"
• Hydrocarbon: Oil/Gas

Project Ownership

• Petrobras 100%

Scope of Work

• Seventeen (17) vertical 4"x2" 5,000 psi subsea trees
  • One (1) GLL-IV
  • Six (6) GLL-V
  • Seven (7) GLL-VI
  • Three (3) GLL-VI-2000
    
• Three (3) horizontal 5"x1" 5,000 psi subsea trees
• Four (4) Pipeline End Terminations (PLETs)
• Eighteen (18) vertical connection modules (tree and flowline connection systems)
• System integration testing, offshore installation support and technical assistance

Comments

The Marlim Sul Field was discovered in November 1987 in water depths ranging from 800 to 2,600 m (2,640 to 8,600 ft). This 600 km2 (230 mile2) field lies 120 km (72 miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras adopted a pilot and phased production approach for field development. This approach has the combined benefits of earlier production and relevant data collection, thus reducing the economic risks of future field developments.

In April 1994, MRL-4 well established a deepwater production record at a water depth of 1,027 m (3,389 ft). Another record was established in August 1997 from Module 4, through MLS-3 well, in 1,709 m (5,639 ft) of water, which produced to the FPSO-II. This system, with capacity to process and store 30,000 bopd, operated up to October 1998, when data collection was finalized. FPSO-II was then repositioned for a new pilot system.

Module I of the Marlim Sul Field Development includes a total of thirty-five (35) wells: twenty-one (21) producers and fourteen (14) water injectors. All these wells are subsea direct satellites, linked through individual bundles to the semisubmersible P-40, which has capacity to produce and process up to 155,000 bopd.

Module II is under technical and economical evaluation. Present plans consider a system for 180,000 bopd, comprising fourteen (14) oil producers and ten (10) water injectors in up to 1,500 m (4,950 ft) water depth.