KEPPEL Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M), has through its wholly owned subsidiary Keppel Shipyard, secured a contract worth about US$2.3 billion.

The contract was awarded by Brazil's national oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) on the basis of an international tender for the delivery of P-78, a floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

Slated for delivery in late 2024, the FPSO will deployed in Brazil's deepwater Buzios field. The P-78 is expected to have a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day, 7.2 million cubic metres of gas per day and a storage capacity of two million barrels of oil. It will rank among the largest in the global operating fleet of FPSOs, said Keppel Corp in a statement on Monday.

Keppel O&M's shipyards in Singapore, China and Brazil, will fabricate the topside modules weighing 43,000 tonnes. It will also undertake the integration and commissioning works of the FPSO.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co (HHI), Keppel O&M's partner, will provide the 85,000 tonne hull and the living quarters for 240 persons. Upon completion, the FPSO will be delivered to the Buzios field, where Keppel O&M will carry out the final phase of offshore commissioning works.

Chief executive officer of Keppel O&M Chris Ong said that the company is pleased to support Petrobras with another major FPSO.

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"This project taps our well-recognised capabilities as a leading integrator of offshore energy and infrastructure assets, leveraging our strengths in engineering and project management, with a focus on higher value-adding work," he said in a press statement on Monday.

"It is also aligned with the transformation plans which we had announced, where not all of the work will be done at our yards," he added.

The project had also given Keppel O&M the opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders such as HHI and engineering services provider Doris Engenharia in Brazil, tap its global network of operations and bring a sizeable amount of the work to Brazil to generate thousands of job opportunities for the local eco-system, according to Mr Ong.

Keppel O&M has a track record of supporting Brazil's energy infrastructure through various projects for Petrobras over the years. This includes FPSOs, production platforms, floating storage regasification units, drilling rigs and accommodation vessels.

BrasFELS, Keppel's yard in Angra dos Reis, Brazil is currently also undertaking integration and fabrication work for two other FPSOs that will operate in the Sepia field and the Buzios field.

Keppel Corp shares fell five Singapore cents or 0.9 per cent to end Monday at S$5.31.