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Petrobras Awards ABS Group Services do Brazil 5-Year
Change-Management Contract for 20 Offshore Units
September 2, 2002
RIO DE
JANEIRO, Brazil (Sept. 2, 2002) -- Petrobras has named
ABS Group Services do Brasil Ltda. (ABS Group), an affiliate
of ABSG Consulting Inc., to provide marine engineering
management services for 20 offshore units in Brazil. The
contract provides for ABS Group to assist in the management
of production and operational changes or modifications
to the units over the next five years, says Henrique Paula,
vice president of ABS Consulting's South America division.
"Petrobras wants to be ready. The intensive engineering management effort
will assist Petrobras in verifying that onboard safety systems respond correctly
and efficiently with each modification made," said Paula.
Rufo
Belligotti, ABS Group manager for this project, adds that
the company will review and update technical information
and documentation upon modifications to the units, including
operations and emergency manuals and engineering analyses
(motion, mooring, stability, structural, etc.). ABS Group
also will provide rapid response engineering services and
awareness training to Petrobras staff.
"While operational changes are necessary and are routinely performed on
offshore units, modifications may result in new hazards or degrade a unit's safety
system, if not properly managed and coordinated within an integrated program," said
Belligotti.
He adds that once unit changes are made, ABS Group will assist in updating
the necessary documents, operating manuals, diagrams, stability calculations
and all relevant data for the operation of the unit.
The engineering management contract is part of Petrobras' company wide effort
to enhance the safety readiness of its entire offshore fleet, which totals
some 40 offshore units.
Paula reports that ABS Consulting, the parent company of ABS Group, is well-recognized
for its global industry contributions. "Business Insurance" magazine
ranked ABS Consulting number one on its 2001 list of Top U.S. Risk Management
Consultants. Rankings are based on total company revenues derived from risk-management
consulting, with ABS Consulting attributing $108,550,000 in revenue to its
risk consulting.
ABS Group
will have a core team of 25 in-country personnel providing
services to the units, with additional people and contractors
to be assigned as needed.
"ABS Group's Rio de Janeiro office will lead the effort, with an operational
office established in Macae and engineering staff assigned full time to a Petrobras
facility in Salvador, to serve Petrobras best with in-country, regional experience," said
Belligotti.
The contract, entitled "Integrated Management of Marine Engineering Activities," addresses
four main areas:
- An
extensive as-built verification program
- Numerical
modeling for units as applicable
- Rapid
response service for each installation
- Awareness
training covering subjects such as classification, statutory
certificates, and hazardous areas
The verification
program will focus on monitoring the safety-related systems,
such as progressive flooding or fire fighting systems and
the need for any associated as-built drawings.
ABS Group will use sophisticated numerical modeling software for motion; stability;
hydrodynamics; structure; and mooring analyses for all units, giving Petrobras'
management team a source of class-approved tools that can be readily applied
in case of a major alteration or of emergency.
"The
numerical models are mathematical copies of real-life problems," said
Belligotti. "They are the tools used for engineering
calculations on structures, fluid flows and other physical
phenomena. With them we can simulate real situations and
predict the responses with great accuracy."
With the as-built verification program in place and numerical engineering models
developed, ABS Group will help create a complete and ready-to-use rapid response
plan for each unit. The plan will include special communications arrangements
to expedite quick and safe attendance to the units plus associated rapid response
support, including procedures and emergency manuals.
To learn more about the ABS Group and ABS Consulting's Offshore and Marine
Risk Services, visit the web site http://www.absconsulting.com/riskconsult/offshore.html.
ABSG Consulting
Inc., marketing under ABS Consulting, (www.absconsulting.com)
provides rational engineering-based solutions that blend state-of-the-art
technology with practical loss-control measures and innovative
risk-transfer options. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ABS Consulting
is an affiliate of ABS, one of the world's largest providers of
classification services to the international marine and offshore
industries.
For more information contact:
Rebecca Rieansnider
Senior Marketing Communications Specialist - ABS Consulting
1-281-673-2948 | rrieansnider@absconsulting.com |
