Contracts signed with Petrobras lead the team and the expertise of Forship Group to offshore units of the two largest production basins in Brazil 

orship Group signed two more contracts with Petrobras which allowed our team to show its expertise and excellence: we will run the operation and maintenance tasks of the high-ranking cranes, cargo-handling equipment and accessories, and industrial cleaning for ten offshore units operating in the basins of Campos and Santos. Those production platforms are under management of the Business Units of Espírito Santo (UN-ES) and Santos (UN-BS). 

Forship’s teams will be responsible for receiving and shipping cargo in five platforms (called replicas, as they have the same design) which operate in the pre-salt of Santos basin — P-66, P-67 and P-69 (Tupi), P-68 (Berbigão and Sururu) and P-70 (Atapu), under the management of UN-BS — and five operational units in the Roncador field, in the Campos basin — P-52, P-54, P-55 and P-62 and the Maintenance and Safety Unit (UMS), managed by UN-ES. 

“This activity is essential to the operation of an offshore unit in oil and gas production,” notes the director of Operations at Forship, Marco A. Kronemberger, reminding us that Forship will also provide steel cables for future replacement to the cranes only in the Roncador field.

“The biggest challenges are keeping the inventory of cargo handling equipment and accessories in the minimum amounts required and in perfect usage conditions, including compliance certificates, as well as having the team training and refreshed as per the several Regulating Standards and applicable procedures,” he points out, saying that it is a high-risk operation.

Industry reliability

Forship should initially have a team of about 230 people (118 in units managed by UN-ES and 112 in those of UN-BS), which may increase throughout the 50 months of the contract, to supply demands of the UMS. “We are already used to long-lasting contracts, which reflect the reliability of Forship in the market,” observes Kronemberger.

He reminds us that the company has operated cranes for Petrobras in the BGL-1, maintained the cranes of those very platforms in the Santos basin. Currently, it operates and maintains cranes in the platforms along the coast of Sergipe. 

The Operations director explains that the replicas, several of them positioned among the greatest producers in the country, have modern cranes, which requires their operators to have broad experience and specific training. “Which occasionally demands training in drills,” he explains. “But Forship was very well assessed in the previous contract. That means that the client’s expectations are high and puts an even greater responsibility upon the project team,” he adds. “Due to the size and number of the units those contracts involve, we can consider a significant increase in portfolio,” states Kronemberger.

With the new contracts, Forship Group is even further consolidated as a provider of operation and maintenance services in the oil and gas industry, with a good quality perception by the clients. “They represent a great responsibility with the client and the assurance that we are strong competitors in the market,” he completes.