Petrobras lets power generation contracts for fields off Brazil

Dec. 2, 2011
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) let a $651 million contract for gas-turbine power generation packages to Rolls-Royce.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) let a $651 million contract for gas-turbine power generation packages to Rolls-Royce. The work will be in support of Petrobras’ production off Brazil, the supplier said.

Rolls-Royce will supply 32 RB211 gas-turbine power generation packages, including waste-heat recovery units, to meet the power-generation requirements of eight separate floating production, storage, and offloading vessels. The FPSOs, used to process hydrocarbons and store oil, will operate in Lula (formerly Tupi) and Guara fields in the presalt area of the Santos basin off Brazil.

The new packages will be delivered in groups of four, said the vendor, with the first units scheduled for delivery in first-quarter 2013. Four gas-turbine generating sets will be installed on each of the eight FPSOs. Rolls-Royce will also provide Petrobras with long-term services, technical support, and training.

In February, Rolls-Royce announced plans to build a new $100-million gas turbine assembly and test plant in Santa Cruz, state of Rio de Janeiro, which is to become operational in first-quarter 2013. Equipment from these contract awards will be among the first units to be assembled and tested at the new plant.

The manufacturer said the latest contract award increases the number of RB211-powered industrial gas-turbine units installed in Brazil over the last 10 years to 62. The combined total amount of energy generated by these units equals 1.8 Gw of electric power, the company said.