The Japanese company operates 14 FPSOs in Brazilian waters, which already account for 25% of the country's production. Of the four units under construction worldwide, two are for Equinor in Brazil.
As the holder of the largest global FPSO fleet, MODEC has just completed 20 years in Brazil, and there are many reasons to celebrate. Since 2018, the company has delivered four platforms to Petrobras, its biggest client — FPSOs Carioca, Guanabara, Almirante Barroso, and Anita Garibaldi.
The Japanese multinational operates 14 of its 21 units in Brazil. Of the four units currently under construction, two will operate in Brazilian waters in the coming years — the Bacalhau and Raia FPSOs for Equinor, scheduled to begin operations in 2025 and 2028, respectively.
“There is nothing more modern today than what the Bacalhau and Raia FPSOs will be,” said Eonio Rocha, president and CEO of MODEC in Brazil.
According to him, Equinor’s platforms will have the lowest CO₂ footprint in the Brazilian market. Both will use combined cycle turbines, with Raia being the first unit in the country to process gas at the offshore plant and deliver it directly to the transportation network.
Rocha also mentioned that MODEC is at the forefront of technology when offering solutions for the three main areas needed to reduce carbon intensity: gas and liquid flaring, onboard power generation, and storage tank treatment.
“The next step, which we are already working on, is carbon capture and storage (CCS),” he revealed. However, the biggest challenge for CCS operations onboard is the available topside area, which will need to accommodate large modules, he said.
Another technological aspect under discussion is the installation of wind power generation systems on FPSOs. However, Rocha believes this should be “tailored to the client” as it depends on the wind conditions at the production field location.
In the offshore wind energy sector, the company is developing a floating generation system based on a TLP (Tension Leg Platform) structure.
Shape Digital, the Brazilian Spin-off
Of MODEC’s 6,000 employees, 3,000 are in Brazil. With this workforce, highlighting the importance of the country as its main global market, the company created Shape, its digital arm, in 2021. The spin-off's primary expertise is predictive maintenance based on algorithms and machine learning.
“It is a company created and managed by Brazilians, where all the data scientists are Brazilian,” Rocha emphasized. Shape’s commercial strategy is to develop and market Brazilian technological solutions to the United States, Asia, and Latin America, focusing on predictive maintenance in the oil and gas, mining, pulp and paper, and energy sectors.
In October of this year, Shape signed a contract with TotalEnergies to implement the Digital Shape Aura solution on the FPSO Cidade de Caraguatatuba, installed in the Lapa field, in the Santos Basin, Pre-Salt. The goal is to promote energy optimization and reduce the platform's emissions. In the initial phase, the project is expected to reduce the FPSO’s total emissions by 5%.
The company also implemented its digital platform Lighthouse on the FPSOs Almirante Barroso and Anita Garibaldi. Both will centralize, organize, and contextualize their data through Lighthouse, controlling process variables, maintenance notes, offline inspection results, full alarm history, and asset integrity management – while also using a library of over 100 AI models to predict operational failures.
Exploring New Frontiers
At the end of 2022, MODEC broke SBM's exclusivity in Guyana. The supplier was contracted by ExxonMobil, leader of the Stabroek consortium, to build, install, and operate the FPSO for the "Uaru" project for 10 years. The unit will have the capacity to produce 250,000 bpd, process 540 million cubic feet of gas per day, inject 350,000 bpd of water, and store 2 million barrels of oil. The first oil from the unit, currently under construction in China, is expected in 2026.
In the Mexican portion of the Gulf, MODEC operates the FPSO Miamte for Italy's ENI. Installed in a water depth of just 32 meters in the Bay of Campeche, only 10 km from the coast, the platform features a pioneering system (Tower Yoke Mooring System) that allows it to disconnect from the mooring tower in case of winter storms and hurricanes. The unit handles 90,000 bpd, 75 million cubic feet of gas per day, and can store up to 700,000 barrels of oil.
Global Fleet
MODEC’s portfolio includes 21 units – 18 FPSOs and 3 FSOs in operation. Another four units are under construction, with two destined for Brazil, one for Guyana, and one for Senegal.
The company began its activities in Brazil with the construction of the FPSO Fluminense, which operated for Shell in Bijupirá-Salema, in the Campos Basin, and is now being decommissioned.
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