Keppel offshoot gets US$2.3b contract to build Petrobas vessel

Keppel Shipyard has been contracted to build a floating production, storage and offloading vessel for Brazil's national oil company.

Keppel Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, has been contracted by Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobas) to construct a new vessel.

The contract from Brazil's national oil company is worth US$2.3b, for the turnkey delivery of a P-78 floating production, sotrage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

"We are pleased to support Petrobas with another major FPSO where we are taking on a much larger scope than ever before," said Keppel Offshore & Marine CEO Chris Ong in a press statement.

The FPSO is scheduled for completion in late 2024, to be deployed in Brazil's Buzois field, the largest deepwater oil field in the world.

It will have a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day, 7.2 million cubic metres of gas per day, and a storage capacity of 2 million barrels of oil, and would make it among the largest FPSO in the world.

The contract is on an engineering, procurement and construction basis, with project execution spanning multiple locations globally. Keppel is partnered with Hyundai Heavy Industries in providing the hull and living quarters for 240 persons.

Keppel had previously worked with Petrobas in delivering FPSOs, production platforms, floating storage regasification units, drilling rigs, and accomodation vessels.