Petrobras issued a statement today (8) in which it regrets the death of a worker while transporting the P-70 platform from China to Brazil. The platform was built at COOEC shipyard in Qingdao, China.

According to Petrobras, the workers are from the Dutch company Boskalis, hired by the shipyard to carry out the platform transportation. None of them are part of the Brazilian state's staff.

"Petrobras is ensuring that all assistance is provided. The company is in contact with the Chinese shipyard COOEC, a Boskalis contractor, so that all reasonable measures can be taken," the statement said.

According to Petrobras, what happened to the six workers does not impact the implementation schedule of the new structure. It is being transported by dry tow mode. "Instead of being driven by ocean tugs, the unit will be loaded onto a semi-submersible heavy lift ship," the state-owned company said last month when it announced the completion of the P-70.

According to Petrobras, this is the second time in the world that the transport of such a structure uses the dry tow mode. The first was with the P-67. The state says the dry tow reduces the travel time from China to Brazil by about 40 days.

Platform

Expected to operate in the Santos Basin, the P-70 has the capacity to produce 150,000 barrels of oil and 6 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. It is part of a series of platforms that account for pre-salt production. The P-66, P-67, P-68 and P-69 units have already started operation.