BRAZIL HIRES KBR TO SERVICE GULF OF MEXICO DRILL

Owned by Halliburton and infamous for their role in the Iraq “incidents,” KBR now turns its attention to oil field services, its bread and butter. Deepwater GOM drilling is not expected to be a whole lot tamer than KBR’s last theater of operations.

Interesting aside: KBR today is primarily associated with the Republican Party because Vice-President Cheney is a former CEO and the company has been so active in Iraq. Less widely known is the fact that the company was founded by strong supporters of Democratic President Lyndon Johnson and rose to prominence as a submarine builder in World War II.

KBR to Provide Engineering Services for Petrobras’ Cascade & Chinook Field
December 3, 2007 (RigZone)

WHO
Granherne, Inc. (Richard D'Souza, GM), wholly-owned subsidiary of KBR; Petrobras USA, wholly-owned subsidiary of Petroleo Brasileiro, the Brazilian national oil company

click to enlarge

WHAT
Petrobras USA has retained Granherne to serve as Owner’s Engineer and provide engineering services on the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) deepwater Cascade and Chinook developments.

WHEN
- Granherne was founded in the UK in 1984 and taken over by KBR/Halliburton in 1996.
- The Cascade/Chinook FPSO, when deployed, will be a GoM first and the deepest floating production storage and offloading system (FPSO) in the world.

WHERE
- The Petrobras operations are in the Cascade and Chinook developments in deepwater Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico
- Drilling will be in 2,600 meters of water depth.

WHY
- Petrobras is recognized as one of the world’s most accomplished deepwater oil exploration companies.
- Granherne will provide technical support. It will first assist in the design of the hull of the early production system (EPS) and the FPSO.
- At a later date, Granherne will assist in full field development (FFD).
- Petrobras does not disclose reserves but experts estimate the combined oil and gas potential of Petrobras deepwater Gulf of Mexico fields to approach a billion barrels.

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico drilling platforms are hugely complicated engineering operations. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Richard D'Souza, Granherne: "This award demonstrates KBR and Granherne's commitment to Petrobras' deepwater projects as well as our ongoing participation in deepwater Gulf of Mexico…KBR has a proven track record of executing complex projects and we look forward to showcasing that expertise while assisting Petrobras on this venture."