Yinson growing its footprint in the world’s main FPSO market

Malaysia’s Yinson is consolidating a strong position in Brazil’s FPSO segment, the world’s most demanding market for this kind of oil and gas platform.  

On Monday, Yinson and Petrobras signed the charter and service provision contracts for the Maria Quitéria (Parque das Baleias) FPSO, to be installed in the Jubarte field in the Espírito Santo state portion of the Campos basin. 

The charter and service contracts will be valid 22 years and six months from the production unit's final acceptance.

With processing capacity of 100,000b/d of oil and 5Mm3/d (million cubic meters per day) of gas, the platform will be connected to 17 wells, nine of them oil producers and eight water injectors.

This is the second FPSO deal inked by Yinson in Brazil in less than three years. The first, signed in October 2019, involved the Anna Nery unit, which will be installed in the Marlim field, also in the Campos basin. 

At the end of 2021, Yinson signed a letter of intent with Enauta to adapt and operate the OSX-2 FPSO, the definitive production system of the Brazilian oil company’s Atlanta field, in the Santos basin. 

An important step for the contract to be effectively signed was achieved earlier this week, as Enauta concluded the purchase of OSX-2 for US$80mn, enabling first oil in 2024. 

“We have the letter of intent, now we must negotiate a contract,” a source close to the subject told BNamericas. 

The definitive Atlanta FPSO will produce 80,000b/d of oil.

Requesting anonymity, three executives of FPSO operators or builders in the country spoke with BNamericas about the growth of Yinson in Brazil. 

The main factor is that the traditional FPSO charterers SBM Offshore and Modec are busy with several Petrobras projects (Sepetiba, Anita Garibaldi, Almirante Barroso, Almirante Tamandaré and Alexandre de Gusmão) and one Equinor unit (Bacalhau). 

Except for Anita Garibaldi, which will produce 80,000b/d of oil, production capacity of these FPSOs is 150,000b/d-225,000b/d of oil. 

"Yinson went alone in the Parque das Baleias and Atlanta bids. They are smaller projects, there is a shortage of financing, companies are prioritizing the big projects," one source said. 

Meanwhile, Modec was blocked in 2021for two years from participating in Petrobras tenders because it allegedly caused Petrobras losses in an FPSO contract. 

And Misc, another new entrant, in 2020 got involved with a complex, pre-salt FPSO undertaking (Marechal Duque de Caxias) and decided to not participate in tenders in 2021. 

Additionally, Anglo-Dutch Shell has launched a tender for the chartering of the Gato do Mato FPSO, in which Modec and Saipem/BW Offshore would be competing.

“With this, there were favorable conditions for Yinson to grow rapidly in Brazil,” another source highlighted. 

Petrobras is conducting contracting processes for the P-80/P-82 units for Búzios, and P-81 (deepwater Sergipe Alagoas) under the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) or BOT (built, operate and transfer) models. 

In these cases, where there are increased national content requirements, like mandatory partial construction in Brazil, companies such as Yinson, with lack of local experience, are unlikely to bid. 

Keppel Offshore, Marine and Sembcorp Marine are preparing commercial proposals to build the P-80/82 units, a source close to the subject told BNamericas. The bids must be submitted to Petrobras by May. 

Regarding the P-81, Ocyan is believed to be the only company working on a proposal so far, in partnership with Sembcorp Marine. 

Petrobras' P-78 and P-79 FPSOs, planned for the Búzios field, were contracted via the EPC model with Keppel and Saipem/Daewoo, respectively.