Monday 30 January 2023

he oil and gas company Ocyan announces the arrival of the Solstad vessel in Brazil, the Normand Cutter, which, under Ocyan’s management, will perform decommissioning activities in Petrobras subsea structures at Campos Basin (Rio de Janeiro) and Sergipe-Alagoas, in a contract awarded last year.

“This is the first decommissioning contract for offshore production fields in Brazil and we can say that we are at the forefront when it comes to the national production chain. The project will give us experience and a great expertise. This project marks the return of Ocyan to the subsea construction area. We expect a bright future with new opportunities in other companies, including international operators”, celebrates André Luiz Magalhães, Executive Manager for Subsea Construction at Ocyan.

Normand Cutter is a OCV (Offshore Construction Vessel) of 127.5 meters long, equipped with a crane presenting lifting capacity for 300 tons, in addition to a Flexible Pipe Lay System of up to 100 tons and pipe storage of up to 1250 tons. The ship has a crew capacity of 114 people, however Ocyan’s onboard team will be composed of 23 people.

The vessel was in Norway, from where it departed to Scotland, location where collection and pipe lay systems were deployed. The voyage to Brazil started on December 12th, 2022. As of the second half of January 2023, the vessel will perform the first campaign for the collection of equipment at Campos Basin, where it will remain for two weeks to then, unload the structures at Vitória (ES). At the end of this first stage, still at Espírito Santo, it will perform the last stage of equipment deployment - rollers and reels for storage of flexible pipes - necessary for the sequence of the project.

“After all this trajectory, in February, Normand Cutter will start to operate definitely at Campos Basin, collecting structures of FPSO Cidade do Rio de Janeiro and FPSO Cidade de Rio das Ostras, and in the second semester, it will initiate the work at Sergipe Alagoas Basin, in the area of the FPSO Piranema. All material will be treated and sent for recycling. Offshore services under the contract will last for approximately one and a half year, and the initial milestone occurred in Scotland, with the deployment of equipment”, explains the executive.

”For Ocyan, the presence of the Normand Cutter in its fleet is a strategic point and will provide a window of opportunity for new subsea construction contracts. From now on, we can search for other projects that require this kind of asset as a work tool for activities performed in this area. This vessel will allow the execution of simultaneous projects” points out Rafael Guigon, Director for Subsea Construction Contracts at Ocyan.