Forship Engenharia, a Brazilian company that has been operating in the oil and gas sector for more than two decades, with strong expertise in commissioning, maintenance and operation of assets, was selected by Petrobras to operate the utilities plant of the Natural Gas Processing Unit ( UPGN) of the Integrated Route 3 Project, at the GásLub Itaboraí complex (formerly Comperj).

Forship Engenharia won a 36-month contract, renewable for another two years, to provide commissioning, operation, maintenance and engineering services for the utilities plant, which covers the power and steam generation units (CAFOR), station water treatment plant (ETA) and industrial waste treatment plant (ETDI) and respective electrical substations.

The Brazilian company will be one of the operators of this project that will expand the flow of natural gas produced in the pre-salt fields in the Santos basin. Scheduled to start operating in the first half of 2021. The project also includes a gas pipeline with approximately 355 km of total length, of which 307 km of maritime stretch (already built) and 48 km of land (at the end of construction).

Forship Engenharia won the 36-month contract to provide commissioning, operation, maintenance and engineering services for the UPGN utility plant. Renewable for two years, the contract, under the unit price task regime, aims to guarantee the operation of this strategic asset.

“The scope of services provided by Forship adds new responsibilities and areas of activity, as we will be charged for the operational indicators of the CAFOR, ETA, ETDI units and respective electrical substations”, explains the president and CEO of the Forship Group, Fábio Fares. “Any and all work permits (PT) will be given by the manager”, complements the executive of the Brazilian business group, present in Brazil, Singapore, Mozambique and the Netherlands.

For Forship's Director of Operations, Marco Antonio Kronemberger, the contract's biggest challenge is the complexity of operating the electrical and steam generation systems, in which there are high voltages and a high volume of high pressure steam, respectively. "As we are responsible for monitoring the commissioning, and consequently, receiving the systems of the assemblers, we will have the extra challenge of following the tests with a reduced team, due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19", he stresses.

Kronemberger notes that other contracts with Petrobras already have the scope of collecting the indicators for maintenance activities, including what Forship has with the Exploration and Production Operations Unit of Sergipe and Alagoas. (UO-SEAL), referring to high voltage networks in Carmópolis and fixed platforms. “At UO-SEAL, we support the Petrobras operating team. But we have already had similar contracts, for example, maintenance and operation at Termoaçu (RN) ”, says the Director of Operations. The Thermoelectric Plant of Vale do Açu Jesus Soares Pereira (Termoaçu) is located in Alto do Rodrigues, in the Vale do Açu region, in Rio Grande do Norte.

“We are expanding and consolidating our expertise in operation and maintenance”, concludes Forship's president and CEO, Fábio Fares, recalling that the company has participated in more than 100 projects in the Brazilian oil and gas industry, following the evolution of the activities of upstream, midstream and downstream in the country, for 22 years.

The UPGN and the gas pipeline, designed to operate in an integrated manner, should start operating in 2021, ensuring the processing of the growing volume of gas that has been produced in the main assets operated by Petrobras in the pre-salt layer. What makes the Integrated Project Rota 3 emblematic for Brazil, since the pre-salt today accounts for more than 70% of the national production of oil and gas.