Cascade and Chinook Subsea Development, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico

The most significant aspect of Petrobras's Cascade and Chinook development in the Gulf of Mexico is the company's intent to deploy a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility to accept production from the two fields. Petrobras plans to fast track the development of both the FPSO and the fields.

According to Petrobras, the schedule calls for installation of the FPSO early in 2010 with first production in the first quarter of 2010. The FPSO will be located in approximately 2,600m of water, will be the first in the US Gulf of Mexico and will be the world's deepest FPSO to date.

CASCADE AND CHINOOK FIELDS

Cascade and Chinook are located in the Walker Ridge block, around 300km (180 miles) south of the Louisiana coast. Petrobras is the operator of both the Cascade and Chinook units, owning 50% and 66.67% of the fields respectively. The remaining 50% of Cascade is owned by Devon Energy Corporation, while Total E&P owns the remaining 33.33% of Chinook.

KBR's wholly owned subsidiary, Granherne, was awarded a three-year contract for engineering services. Granherne will be providing technical support for design of the hull for the Early Production System (EPS), Floating Production Storage and Offloading system (FPSO), and later phase Full Field Development (FFD).

The fields will be developed two subsea wells in Cascade and one subsea well in Chinook, approximately 30km south of Cascade. Each well will be drilled to an approximate depth of 27,000ft, and based on reservoir performance. Petrobras may expand production to additional subsea wells on each field.

SUBSEA CONTRACTS

Petrobras awarded FMC Technologies a $200m contract to supply subsea systems. Subsea electric submersible pumps will boost production from subsea to the FPSO. The contract calls for the delivery of four horizontal subsea trees, three manifolds, control systems, and two subsea horizontal electric submersible pumping systems. Deliveries are expected to start in the final quarter of 2008.

Petrobras signed a contract with Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) for the installation of the Chinook infield flowlines. The two pipe-in-pipe flowlines are each 12 miles long with a 14in casing pipe carrying a 9in inner pipe, and will be installed in water depths ranging from 8,000ft to 8,800ft (2,440m to 2,680m) as part of the phase one. The Chinook pipe-in-pipe project is scheduled for offshore execution in Spring 2009.

Petrobras awarded Aker Kværner a $65m contract to supply subsea power cables and control umbilicals. Aker Kværner is to supply 230,000ft (70km) of high-voltage power cables and static and dynamic steel tube. The umbilicals will be made using Aker Kværner's patented carbon-fibre rod technology.

Project management, engineering and manufacturing will be at Aker Kværner's Mobile, Alabama, facility. Delivery of the cables and umbilicals is scheduled for mid-2009.

Free-standing hybrid risers, used to transport oil and gas from the subsea flowline to the FPSO and gas from the FPSO to the export pipeline.

FPSO

The FPSO is specified to have 600,000 barrels of oil storage capacity, 80,000bpd processing capacity, and 16mmcfpd of natural gas export capacity. It will feature a disconnectable turret buoy, allowing the FPSO to move offsite during severe weather events such as hurricanes. It is moored by a polyester mooring system linked to torpedo piles and vertical loaded anchors.

The crude will be offloaded via a shuttle tanker. Petrobras selected BW Offshore the contract to convert, install, and operate the FPSO. The $740m contract will cover delivery and installation of an APL disconnectable submerged turret production buoy and mooring system.

Bristol-based DPS was awarded the EPC contract for the crude stabilisation and flare modules that will form an integral part of BW Offshore's design. DPS will also be responsible for managing the process and piping interfaces for the entire process topsides.