Petrobras’ Procap-3000 deepwater technology program at its Cenpes Research and Development facility has developed two new hull production unit concepts, the FPSOBR and the MONOBR

FPSOBR

ABS Rio de Janeiro Engineering has provided Petrobras with a design analysis of the FPSOBR configuration to verify its compliance with ABS SafeHull for FPSOs. This advanced software system assesses the strength of an FPSO hull design by evaluating load components, hull strength and site-specific fatigue assessment. Specifically, ABS reviewed the still water bending moment (SWBM) and loading patterns.

The FPSOBR is designed to reduce heave and pitch, offering additional stability. It is essentially a non-shipshape FPSO design specifically for water depths up to 3000m in the Campos Basin. It will be the unit chosen for the P-57 project in the Jubarte-Cachalote development field offshore Brazil.

FPSO MONOBR

The single-hull floater design MONOBR is similar to a spar but has a shallower draft. It is a variation of the rounded, ship shaped FPSO design that promises reduced rates of heave and pitch making it more suitable to the application of steel catenary risers (SCRs) used on ultra-deep water developments. It is a short, cylindrical mono-column hull with a 40m draft designed to support production facilities. ABS reviewed the design and provided its “Approval In Principal” or AIP using criteria set forth in its Guidance Notes on Review and Approval of Novel Concepts.