US-based Baker Hughes has been awarded a significant order to supply the combined cycle technology to be installed on the floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel intended for Equinor’s BM-C-33 project offshore Brazil.
In May, Equinor took a final investment decision on the $9 billion project located in the Campos Basin. BM-C-33 is composed of three different pre-salt discoveries — Pão de Açúcar, Gávea, and Seat — containing natural gas and oil/condensate recoverable reserves above 1 billion BOE.
Japanese contractor MODEC is building the development's FPSO, with UK-based TechnipFMC supplying the entire subsea system and subsea distribution and topside control equipment.
MODEC subcontracted Baker Hughes to supply turbomachinery equipment — including LM2500 gas turbine generators and steam turbine generator technology — for a combined cycle power generation solution to be installed in the BM-C-33 FPSO to reduce the project’s carbon footprint, as well as process design engineering and balance of plant.
“This order is a testament to our established track record regarding technology for FPSO vessels. It also strengthens our relationship with MODEC and is a very important milestone in our collaboration with Equinor and its partners,” said Ganesh Ramaswamy, executive vice president of Industrial & Energy Technology at Baker Hughes. “We are honored that our proven solutions will reduce the project’s carbon footprint, aligning with Baker Hughes’ mission to take energy forward, making it more sustainable and safer.”
Combined cycles enable the reduction of the overall FPSO carbon emissions. The company said that, in this project, it expects a more than 20% reduction in carbon emissions versus similar open-cycle FPSOs with the same power demand, according to Baker Hughes.
For the BM-C-33 project, Equinor and its partners expect the FPSO to be able to achieve a carbon intensity target of less than 6 kg/BOE over the field’s lifetime, while the global industry average is 16 kg CO2/bbl.
This is the second combined cycle power generation FPSO project developed by Baker Hughes for MODEC and Equinor in Brazilian deep waters, following the award for the Bacalhau FPSO in 2020.
Equinor operates BM-C-33 and holds a 35% stake in the project. Partners in the development include Repsol Sinopec Brasil (35%) and Petrobras (30%).
