Sandvik has won the first large-scale stainless steel umbilical tube order in Brazil’s pre-salt Mero oilfield.
The milestone contract is significant for the offshore Brazilian oil and gas industry, which typically uses thermoplastic hose umbilicals. It will consist of over 500 kilometers of Sandvik’s super duplex Sandvik SAF 2507® stainless steel umbilical tubes encapsulated by Prysmian Group.
Mero is an expansive pre-salt oilfield in the Santos Basin offshore Rio de Janeiro with immense oil production potential. As one of the most prestigious projects in South America, the Mero oilfield is being managed by the Libra Consortium, made up of a partnership between Petrobras, Total, Shell Brasil, CNPC and CNOOC Ltd.
The first phase of the project - Mero 1 - is an ultra-deepwater project consisting of 17 wells in a water depth of approximately 2,000 meters.
As the Brazilian oil and gas industry moves further and deeper offshore, the need for more robust products able to withstand higher pressures, corrosion and erosion is growing.
Sandvik SAF 2507® is an austenitic-ferritic stainless steel that performs well in highly corrosive conditions. It offers excellent resistance to stress corrosion cracking, pitting and crevice corrosion, erosion corrosion and corrosion fatigue. It features high mechanical strength and good weldability. Umbilicals seamless tubes made from Sandvik SAF 2507® provide stronger structural reinforcement in smaller sizes compared to less durable thermoplastic technology.
“There are several advantages to using steel tubing over plastics, but the main one is reliability in challenging conditions. At Sandvik, we have been observing market trends in Brazil closely for the past 20 years and are well placed to support the transition from thermoplastic to more robust steel,” said Alan Souza, Sales Manager, Sandvik.
In 2015, Sandvik identified Brazil as a key growth region and opened its South American hub in Rio de Janeiro, which houses a service center, sales support and a warehouse. With this local hub, Sandvik has been strengthening its footprint in the Brazilian oil and gas industry and expanding relationships with the key operators in the region for some time.
“We’re excited to be one of the pioneers working on such a high-profile project in the region and to support the growing recognition of the benefits of steel over plastics for umbilicals offshore Brazil,” concluded Souza.
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