MODEC Hits 1 Million Safe Work Hours Milestone on FPSO Raia Project

Japanese giant MODEC has achieved further progress in the construction of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) destined for a big upcoming natural gas project off the coast of Brazil, thanks to the workers hired to turn the unit plan into reality, hitting 1 million work hours without lost time injury (LTI) and lost time accident (LTA).

MODEC portrayed the achievement of 1 million man-hours without LTI, as “another significant milestone” for the FPSO Raia project, marking the occasion with a ceremony at the Seatrium shipyard in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro.

The ceremony – attended by executives from Equinor, the shipyard, and MODEC – enabled professionals who are working on the project to be recognized for their contributions to what the Japanese giant describes as “an increasingly safe work environment,” adding: “This milestone reflects the daily dedication of our teams and our ongoing and priority commitment to everyone’s safety.”

MODEC’s deal with Equinor is a two-phase lump sum turnkey contract covering both front end engineering design (FEED) and engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) for the entire FPSO. After Equinor announced the final investment decision (FID) in May 2023, following the completion of the FEED, MODEC got its hands on phase 2 of the contract for EPCI of the FPSO.

The Japanese firm will also provide Equinor with operations and maintenance service of the FPSO for the first year from the initial oil production, after which Equinor plans to operate the FPSO. The spread mooring system will be supplied by MODEC group company, SOFEC. Equinor’s field partners are Repsol Sinopec Brazil (35%) and Petrobras (30%). The delivery of the vessel is expected in 2027.

As MODEC is tasked with the design and construction of the FPSO, including topsides processing equipment and hull marine systems, the vessel will have topsides designed to produce approximately 125,000 barrels of crude oil per day as well as produce and export about 565 million standard cubic feet of associated gas per day.

The unit’s minimum storage capacity of crude oil will be 2,000,000 barrels. The FPSO will apply MODEC’s new build, full double hull design, developed to accommodate larger topsides and greater storage capacity than conventional VLCC tankers, with a longer design service life.

The Raia asset is perceived to be one of the major natural gas projects in Brazil. This project comprises three different pre-salt discoveries: Pão de Açúcar, Gávea, and Seat, with recoverable reserves of natural gas and oil/condensate above 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

The project is seen as Brazil’s first foray into treating gas offshore and delivering it directly to the transmission system with no onshore processing plant work, because of the quality of the hydrocarbons that will be produced from the field. Together with partners, Equinor has announced an investment of approximately $9 billion to develop the project.

According to the operator, the pipes for the Raia gas export pipeline count on a mostly local supply chain, with 99% of the steel produced by Brazilian companies for the production and coating of pipes for the 200-kilometer gas pipeline that will connect the FPSO Raia to the gas receiving facility at Cabiúnas, in the city of Macaé.

The project is expected to create up to 50,000 direct and indirect jobs throughout the field’s lifecycle, contributing to Brazil’s energy security and economic development, and enabling significant new job opportunities. Saipem’s pipe-laying vessel, Castorone, will work on bringing this project to life.

Raia will be Equinor’s second FPSO in Brazil to use combined cycle gas turbines, a move set to curb the field’s carbon emissions by combining a gas turbine with a steam turbine to harness excess heat that would be lost otherwise.

“The Raia FPSO is expected to be the world’s most efficient in terms of carbon self-production. With the implementation of various technologies, such as the combined cycle, the average CO2 intensity of the field during its lifetime will be less than 6 kilos per barrel. The FPSO’s capacity is approximately 126,000 bpd,” the Norwegian state-owned energy giant elaborated.

The Raia project’s gas export capacity can represent 15% of the Brazilian gas demand at start-up, which is expected in 2028.