GE Pens Petrobras Subsea Deal

16 June 2011

GE Oil & Gas subsidiary Wellstream has won a $200 million long-term flexible pipe and subsea equipment logistics services contract with Petrobras, triggering additional investments of $90 million in a new logistics base adjacent to the US company’s flexpipe fabrication plant near Rio de Janeiro.

Petrobras will use the 55,000-square-metre facility to support its development of pre-salt oil and gas field projects in the Campos and Santos basins, GE said in a statement.

The new logistics facility will include dedicated warehouses, de-washing and flushing stations, and advanced loading and handling equipment, including capacity to store 140 reels and handle loaded reels with 300 tonnes.

The base will offer a berth for installation and commercial vessels simultaneously with 8.5 metres draft and 220 metres in length, and start operations in the third quarter of next year.

The Connecticut-based company also announced this week a $30 million, three-year deal with Shell Brasil for an estimated 26 deepwater wellhead systems in the GE MS-700 range.

Petrobras also awarded GE Oil & Gas a four-year service agreement to deliver repairs, maintenance and retrofits on Petrobras’ fleet of subsea equipment installed in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil.

The scope of the agreement, valued at $120 million, includes service and repairs on over 300 exploration and 250 production tools, as well as retrofitting six subsea production trees each year.

GE will conduct the service programme from its Macae Service Centre, currently undergoing a $30 million refurbishment and expansion.

The 91,000-square-metre facility will be provide inspection, maintenance and repair services, plus spares parts, rental tools and field services for capital drilling, subsea wellhead systems, and subsea production and controls equipment.