Petrobras Inks Marlim Subsea Deal

By Sarah Coursey, Editor

RIO DE JANEIRO – Petrobras continues to lead the pack of oil pioneers in the field of subsea technologies. It recently signed a US$90 Million contract with FMC Technologies Inc. that will provide the Marlim Field in the Campos basin with a deepwater separation system. Marlim is the largest field in Campos, occupying a total area of 100,000 square kilometers.

The deal is historic both in its use of new technology and the deployment of established working practices in a mature field. The partnership will see the first separation of heavy oil and water in such an environment.

It will also include subsea reinjection of water into a reservoir to boost production, a method to be used for the first time.  It has also partnered with StatoilHydro on a new pipe separator expressly designed for Marlim. FMC has recently signed a US$73 Million deal with StatoilHydro to supply subsea systems for its Gulfalks Field.

FMC’s subsea separation module will separate heavy oil, gas, sand, and water in 900 meters of water using proprietary technologies.

“Marlim is the fifth field in the world that will utilize FMC’s subsea separation technologies. The project will enable a broader application of our separation technologies for future subsea processing opportunities. We look forward to supporting Petrobras in the development of this exciting project,” said Tore Halvorsen, FMC’s Senior Vice-President of global subsea production systems. Delivery is projected to begin in 2011.

The global engineering capacities of FMC will be harnessed for the Marlin operation to include their facilities in Brazil, Norway and The Netherlands. Once the design is completed, the company’s Rio de Janeiro branch will take care of the final stages before implementation, including manufacturing and integration activities.

FMC (NYSE: FTI) has a long history of partnership with the Brazilian oil industry that started in 1961. The company opened the first base in 1982 in Macaé to service the Campos basin, at the time the only ISO-certified facility in the area. In 2001, it launched an expansion to double the capacity of the Macae facility and better service subsea trees, including increased crane capacity and additional tools. Just this year alone, the company won subsea contracts with Petrobas valued at US$140 Million and US$74 Million, respectively.

A leading provider of technology solutions for the energy industry, FMC was named by FORTUNE Magazine as America’s Most Admired Oil and Gas Equipment and Service Company in 2008, and continues to lead the field in subsea production and processing systems. In the second quarter of 2009, the company reported diluted earnings per share were up twelve percent in the prior-year quarter and up fifty percent from the first quarter of 2009.