Subsea 7 Bags 'Sizeable' Job Off Brazil

London-headquartered subsea contractor Subsea 7 has won a “sizeable” contract from France’s Total for work at the Lapa North East oil and gas field off the coast of Brazil.

Subsea 7 has been hired for the transport, installation and pre-commissioning of 35 km of flexible pipelines and 20 km of umbilicals. This infrastructure will tie five wells to the Cidade de Caraguatatuba floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel (pictured above, courtesy Modec). The work is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter.

“This contract builds on our track record of project execution offshore Brazil and reflects our commitment to work and learn together with our client to achieve successful solutions,” Subsea 7 CEO Marcelo Xavier said.

Subsea 7 said the contract was worth between $50mn and $150mn.

Lapa – formerly known as Carioca – is situated in the Santos basin, some 300 km off the coast of Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, in waters 2,150 metres deep. Total operates the BM-S-9A concession containing the field with a 45% stake. Its partners are Shell with 30% and Spanish-Chinese joint venture Repsol Sinopec with 25%. The group aims to exploit 459mn barrels of oil equivalent at the site.

The FPSO is owned by a consortium comprised of Modec, Mitsui & Co, Mitsui OSK Lines, Marubeni Corp and Mitsui E&S Holdings. Modec provides the operation and maintenance service for the FPSO under 20-year charter contract and this is the fifth such vessel it has contracted for Brazil's prolific pre-salt region.