Equinor has let front end engineering and design (FEED) contracts with early commitments and pre-investments for Phase 1 of Bacalhau field (formerly Carcará) development in the Santos basin off Brazil.
A subsea, umbilical, risers, and flowlines (SURF) contract has been let to the Subsea7 and OneSubsea alliance, Subsea Integration Alliance. A floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) contract was let to Modec Inc.
The SURF and FPSO contracts are based on a two-step award. The FEED and pre-investment are starting now, with an option for the execution phase under a lump sum turnkey contract setup which includes engineering, procurement, construction, and installation for the entire SURF and FPSO scopes.
Options for both contracts are subject to a planned investment decision late 2020.
The FPSO contractor will operate the FPSO for the first year. Thereafter, Equinor plans to operate the facilities until the end of the license period in 2053.
Bacalhau lies 185 km from the coast of the municipality of Ilhabela/SP, in the state of Sao Paulo, in water depths of 2050 m. First oil production is planned for 2023-2024.
“This will be the largest FPSO in Brazil with a production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day,” said Anders Opedal, Equinor’s executive vice-president for technology, projects and drilling.
“Brazil is a core growth area for Equinor, and the company has ambitions of producing 300,000-500,000 b/d in Brazil within 2030. Bacalhau will be an important contributor to reach this goal,” said Margareth Ovrum, Equinor’s executive vice-president, development and production, Brazil.
Equinor serves as Bacalhau operator with 40%. Partners are ExxonMobil 40%, Petrogal Brasil 20%, and Pré-sal Petróleo SA (PPSA, non-investor Government Agency).