OREANDA-NEWS. Hitachi, Ltd. delivered six sets of centrifugal compressors for a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading system (FPSO) for Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., the state oil company of the Federative Republic of Brazil ("Brazil"). Hitachi received an order from MODEC AND TOYO OFFSHORE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS PTE. LTD., a group company of MODEC, Inc. for these compressors in January 2013. This is the first order of compressor by Hitachi for Petrobras FPSO project. Hitachi will seek further orders for Petrobras projects, which includes plans to build many more FPSOs.

FPSOs are used to produce crude oil and gas, store it in storage tanks, and directly offload it into oil and gas shuttle tankers at sea. With oil companies actively developing offshore oil and gas fields in recent years, demand for FPSO is expected to grow, especially great in South America and South Africa. The huge reserves of oil and gas fields discovered one after another offshore in Brazil have attracted global attention.

The Petrobras FPSO, converted Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) tanker, will be deployed in the Iracema North oil field (located offshore, approximately 300 km south of Rio de Janeiro). This vast oil field lies approximately 5,000 meters under the sea floor, under a pre-salt layer (rock salt layer). After conversion, the FPSO will have the capacity to process 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day and store approximately 1.6 million barrels.

Three sets of high-pressure centrifugal compressors with discharge pressure of approx. 25,000 kPag and three sets of intermediate-pressure centrifugal compressors with discharge pressure of approx. 6,400 kPag were delivered. These are essential in gas treatment equipment and equipment that separates oil and gas components from the associated gases that are produced along with the crude oil.

In September 2011, the Hitachi Group received an order for 4 compressors and 2 sets of Reverse Osmosis (RO) equipment (Seawater Desalination unit) for a FPSO in Brazil from MTOPS. In addition, in December 2012, Hitachi launched HITACHI-MYCOM Maintenance & Solutions, Ltd., a maintenance services company in Brazil that services industrial equipment including Compressors, Pumps and RO equipment. The company's goal is to establish a servicing structure for the product life cycle.

Hitachi plans to actively expand sales of compressors, pumps, and water treatment equipment for oil and gas plants to meet expected rising demand, mainly in the Middle East, Asia, and South America. Working closely with customers and partner companies, Hitachi also plans to expand its servicing business and accelerate global development of operations with close ties to each region.