MAN Energy Solutions will supply five radial compressor and two screw compressor trains for the Bacalhau FPSO, under the contract with the Japanese FPSO specialist MODEC.

The compressor trains will be installed aboard the FPSO that will be used to produce oil for Equinor at the Bacalhau field, about 185 kilometers off the Brazilian coast – south of São Paulo – at a water depth of around 2,050 meters.
RB compressor Skid rendering - Credit: MANThe FPSO will be able to produce and process up to 220,000 barrels of crude oil and up to 15 million cubic meters of gas per day. The minimum storage capacity will be two million barrels of crude oil.

The FPSO will be MODEC's 17th FPSO/FSO vessel in Brazil and Modec's 9th FPSO in the pre-salt region, as well as Modec's first contract with Equinor.

According to MAN ES, the compressor systems will help maintain the pressure in the Bacalhau field, maximizing the production flow-rate and efficiency. The type RB compressors (2 × RB 45-4+5 and 3 × RB 28-6), which are driven by an electric, fixed-speed motor, will be used for gas-processing, full gas re-injection, and gas-lifting applications.

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The two SKUEL 510 screw compressors will be used as vapor-recovery units. These pressurize any flash-gas created and return it to the process instead of burning it off into the atmosphere.

The radial compressors will be designed, manufactured and tested in Zurich (Switzerland), the screw compressors will be produced at the MAN site in Oberhausen (Germany). Delivery of all compressor trains is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021.

Vapour Recovery Unit - Screw Compressor/Credit: MAN