Ocean Installer, a subsidiary of Moreld, has secured a contract from Equinor to carry out subsea installation work at the Bacalhau field in Brazil.
The contract, which spans 4.5 years with extension options, is for the field’s well tie-in scope. It covers the installation of rigid well jumpers between flowlines and subsea trees, along with flying leads installation and related pre-commissioning activities.
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The first offshore campaign is scheduled to start in 2027.
Moreld CEO Geir Austigard said: “This award represents a step change for Moreld. This is Ocean Installer’s first award in Brazil. The scope involves production-critical work on a major international asset operated by Equinor, reflecting Ocean Installer’s ability to deliver safely, reliably and consistently over time.”
The Bacalhau field is situated in the Santos Basin at a water depth of 2,100m.
The project involves connecting multiple wells sequentially as they come on stream, requiring the installation contractor to adapt throughout execution.
The field is characterised by high reservoir pressure, presenting technical challenges for offshore operations.
Ocean Installer has responded to the contract award by forming a new Brazilian entity and employing local staff, aiming to establish a long-term presence in Brazil’s subsea sector.
Ocean Installer CEO Kevin Murphy said: “The long project duration provides a stable foundation to build our local organisation in Brazil. Brazil is an attractive market with a significant pipeline of subsea projects to be executed, and we see strong alignment between upcoming opportunities and Ocean Installer’s core competencies”.
The contract, which Moreld describes as significant, is estimated to be in the range of Nkr500m ($53.8m) and Nkr1bn.
Bacalhau is reported to be Equinor’s largest offshore project outside Norway and its largest international field, with an estimated production capacity of more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The field is located across the BM-S-8 and Bacalhau North blocks, which together cover 2,610km². The area contains a light oil carbonate reservoir and has been under Equinor’s operatorship since 2016.
Bacalhau is also described as the first asset in Brazil’s pre-salt region to be entirely developed by an international operator. Production at the field commenced in October 2025.
Equinor recently awarded a new subsea contract package to DeepOcean for projects spanning multiple fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
