On 1 May Petrobras celebrated "first oil" from the Tupi Field. Today a ceremony took place at Inocean when a mini version of the vessel operating on the Tupi Field, BW Cidade de São Vicente, was unveiled.
In 2008 Petrobras awarded a contract to BW Offshore for delivery of an FPSO to the high-profile Tupi Field, where the ship will operate as a combined long-term well-testing and early production vessel ('TLD' - Tesle de Longa Duracao).
To meet Petrobras's demands, BW Offshore opted on a conversion of the FPSO BW Peace, originally a single-hull Suezmax tanker built in 1976. The vessel was converted to an FPSO in 1996 (Wakaropai) and operated for Shell afterwards on the Maui Field offshore New Zealand. The ship was later bought by BWO and re-named BW Peace and finally BW Cidade de São Vicente in honour of the first official Brazilian city.
BW Offshore selected Inocean as one of its engineering partners on the project. Inocean was given responsibility for hydrodynamics, stability, strength and marine systems, among other aspects.
"This has been a rewarding and fascinating project that we are delighted and proud to have played a role in," says John Namork, Project Manager for Inocean. "The building of a miniature of BW Cidade de São Vicente reflects that. The model will of course be highly visible in our offices at Aker Brygge in Oslo."
