DNV has been chosen as the class society for the new Brazilian platform P-52. Its design life shall be 25 years without any dry-docking. The platform will be built to DNV’s strict rules for safety and reliability.
The Brazilian state-owned oil company, Petrobras, will use this new platform to produce oil and gas from the Roncador field in the Campos Basin off the state of Rio de Janeiro. This is the same field as the P-36 platform produced from before being sunk in an accident in the spring of 2001.
The new platform will be built to the main class and service notation 1A1 Column-stabilised Oil Production Unit. The lower hull will be built by Keppel Fels in Singapore, while the upper hull – deck boxes, topside and modules – will be built by Fels Setal in Rio de Janeiro, which will also complete the integration and mating.
In addition to the site surveys in Singapore and Rio de Janeiro, DNV will use its global presence and experience to assist the main contractor FSTP Consortium (Keppel Fels / Fels Setal / Technip). The work will start in May 2004, and the complete platform is scheduled for delivery by July 2006. The first oil is expected by February 2007.
DNV’s regional manager for South America, José Pontes, states: “We are proud of being chosen as the classification society for this new platform. Petrobras, the owner of the platform, has focused on safety and reliability in all steps of its operations, and this new platform will be another step to ensure safe operation for both people and the environment.”
The P-52 platform is a semi-submersible production unit to be anchored in water depths of 1,800 metres. It will have the capacity to process and treat 180,000 barrels of oil per day, compress 9.3 million m3 of gas/day and inject approximately 48,000 m3/day of water. A total of 45 rigid risers of different diameters shall be connected to the platform.
The oil from P-52 will be exported by underwater pipeline to a fixed shallow-water platform. The gas will be exported to shore using the same system as the FPSO BRASIL uses today.