THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF WORKING OFFSHORE

By Foylan Rhodes

Publicly traded Brazilian energy giant Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras)’s commitment to energy is only matched by their commitment to their staff wellbeing, especially as, with an employee number over 46,000, their team numbers are by far their most valuable commodity. A career working in the offshore industry promises long hours and good pay and is considered by many sectors to be one of the most physically and mentally demanding roles one can have even with the recent victories won by unions to improve working conditions. Foylan Rhodes for The Lost Executive investigates.

Considering the dangers that are found on an oilrig and how expensive accidents can be, an increasing amount of focus on the quality of workers sleep has been applied to the industry over the last two decades, according to Petrobras Chief Human Resources director, Eberaldo de Almeida Neto, “Petrobras have made significant steps in the effort to improve the standards of workers in our field. For offshore workers this starts with ensuring that they are able to get the chance to recuperate between shifts both physically and mentally. This begins with making sure that their sleep is of a high a standard as possible.”

Beyond The Norm

Beyond the accommodation found on offshore rigs which, while not the Hilton are well known for being efficient and at very least comfortable if a little Spartan, but there are many occasions where workers are working in inhospitable and unpredictable locations and for this sort of accommodation Petrobras turn to their partners.

In May 2022, Prosafe, a leading owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels who are listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, were awarded a contract by Petrobras for the provision of the Safe Notos semi-submersible vessel for safety and maintenance support offshore Brazil.

The contract linked to the award came with a firm period commitment of four years and the commencement was in Q3/Q4 2022 following on from the expiry of her current mutually extended three-year contract that began in Q4 2016. The total value of the contract is approximately USD 110 million.

The Safe Notos is a technologically advanced and efficient Dynamically Positioned (DP3) semisubmersible safety and maintenance support vessel, capable of operating in harsh environments. The Safe Notos can accommodate up to 500 persons, has extensive recreation facilities and a large capacity open deck area and telescopic gangway. When running the vessel, Prosafe will have a strong focus on reducing emissions through innovative energy performance monitoring and associated fuel consumption reduction.

Jesper Kragh Andresen, CEO of Prosafe says: “Brazil remains a primary operational region for Prosafe, and it is a testament to crew, vessel and operational management that the Safe Notos will continue to demonstrate best in class performance into 2026.”

In preparation for operations, contract and regulatory compliance scopes were performed en-route to and whilst in Brazil ensuring that the Safe Zephyrus could efficiently begin contract.

Andresen added, “Prosafe set a goal of commencing contract with Petrobras on 1 May 2023, and we successfully achieved this early, which was and remains a testament to the capabilities and focus of the organization with collaboration between the North Sea and Brazil business units. It has been a successful period so far.”

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF SLEEP?

As Eberaldo reveals, data regarding the dangers associated with poor sleep is abundant but the industry is still finding ways to balance the needs of the employees against the demand of the industries.

“Technology advances far faster than human durability and while so much of the machinery and equipment we use is state of the art, it still needs to be monitored and managed by people. The one area where technology is slower to develop is within human welfare and it is an issue that is being looked at constantly.”

Safety is a big issue because even mild sleep deprivation reduces a person’s capacity to function optimally and responsibly. Evidence in 2017 showed that even slightly broken sleep can impact one’s wellbeing. And while certainly the industry is often considered the realm of “manly men” who don’t succumb to such nuisances, if you’re in the wrong frame of mind, working in the middle of nowhere, safety is not going to be top of your list.

And while some businesses have spent millions of dollars hiring psychologists and providing workplace counselling for workers in the industry, for the most part, it boils down to how much good sleep someone is getting.

Unknowns

As the drive of their industry is found within the people working on the hundreds of different projects, Petrobras’ focus on their staff is largely behind the scenes. Like all giant companies they have not been able to please everyone, but that is a given. Also, as a publicly traded corporation operating in an integrated and specialized manner in the oil, natural gas, and energy industry they value their team for their expertise in exploration and production that has been nurtured over decades of development in the Brazilian basins, especially in deep and ultra-deep waters. This has made them a world leader in the segment.

Petrobras has invested R$350 million ($62 million US) into training people for the energy sector.

Autonomy and Income Program will have almost 20 thousand vacancies in seven states, more than 7 thousand in Pernambuco Brazil alone. Over the next four years to train 19,560 professionals for the energy sector in Pernambuco, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul.

The area covered by the Abreu e Lima Refinery (RNEST) will receive the largest number of vacancies under the Program, approximately 7,400 over the four years of the program. Of this total, approximately 550 vacancies will be offered for technical education courses and 6,832 vacancies for Initial and Continuing Education (FIC) courses. On Thursday (June 27), an agreement was signed between Petrobras and the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology, represented by the Ennio de Jesus Pinheiro Amaral Foundation for Support to the Rio Grande do Sul Institute (FAIFSul).

In Pernambuco, more than 60 classes are planned for the second half of this year, totalling 1,700 professional qualification vacancies offered in 2024. The notices for registration for the vacancies should be released in the last week of July. Among the courses offered in the state of Pernambuco are those of Boilermaker, Electrician, Inspector, Instrumentalist, Insulator, Mechanical Assembler and Maintenance, Scaffold Assembler, Welder and technician in Automation, Electrotechnics, Mechanics, Planning and Safety.

The Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology will manage more than 6,800 vacancies distributed across 17 FIC courses and 9 technical courses. In addition to the Federal Institutes, Petrobras will also sign an agreement in the coming days with Sistema S, represented by SESI-SENAI Rio de Janeiro. SENAI will offer 12,750 vacancies across 23 FIC courses and 9 technical courses.

The initiative expands job opportunities especially for people living near Petrobras in the participating states, prioritizing the service of people with low income or without formal employment contracts; women; transgender, transsexual or transvestite people; people with disabilities; indigenous and quilombola people; black and brown people and refugees.

“The vacancies are connected to the shortage of qualified labour in the companies that supply the Oil and Gas sector. There is a lack of professionals trained to work in maintenance shutdowns and investment projects foreseen in Petrobras’ Strategic Plan and we believe that offering these courses can boost opportunities for the communities near our facilities. Once the course is completed, graduates will be guided to look for vacancies in the National Employment System (SINE). Likewise, we will encourage our suppliers to offer their job opportunities in SINE”, explains José Maria Rangel, Executive Manager of Social Responsibility at Petrobras.

The courses offered include, for example, Auxiliary and Helpers (Civil, Electrical, Instrumentation, Mechanical, Piping, Miscellaneous), Boilermaker, Electrician, Mechanical Assembler, Maintenance Mechanic and Welder. These courses will last from 4 to 9 months and the prerequisite is to have completed elementary school. For technical level courses, such as Automation Technician, Electrotechnics, Mechanics, Planning and Safety, which will last two years, a high school diploma will be needed. In addition to the technical and professional content, students will have classes on occupational safety, psychosocial monitoring and development of personal skills ( soft skills ). For students on FIC courses, there will also be reinforcement in Portuguese and mathematics to correct any gaps in basic training and to improve the participants’ education.

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Adaptation Of The Subsea Mussel System

The opportunity to implement the 100% diverless project arose during adjustments to the safety valve circuits on the Mexilhão platform (PMXL-1), in the Santos Basin, the so-called ESDV ( Emergency Shutdown Valve ), throughout 2023. Originally, the replacement of the umbilicals and adjustments to the control system connections of the platform’s six ESDVs would be done through saturated diving and, after analysis, the solution using underwater robots was applied. In December of last year, the most critical interventions of the campaign were completed, whose operational scenarios were unprecedented for diverless operations . The Mexilhão platform is highly relevant to the gas supply, as it is responsible for the flow of almost 20% of the gas produced in Brazil.

Full Attention To People

The company will continue to rely on divers for activities up to 50 meters deep and some of the professionals are also being transferred to work on diverless fronts and trained to operate underwater robots (this has been happening, but the market has been making this move based on interactions with Petrobras).

Petrobras has respect for life, people and the environment as one of its values in its Strategic Plan. This is why it constantly works to remain among the main safety references in the sector worldwide, pursuing a zero fatality rate in its operations, reinforcing its commitment to the lives of all workers.

“This was a challenge overcome thanks to the integration, perseverance and collaboration of people from SUB, Supplies, CENPES, UN-BS and the team specialized in diving safety at Petrobras, who formed a great team and qualified suppliers. Diverless diving is another advance for Petrobras both in the area of technology and innovation, as well as respect for life, an important value in our Strategic Plan”, highlighted Petrobras’ Executive Manager of Subsea Systems, Suen Marcet.

In operations alone, savings of US$10 million were generated. Over the next four years, the expanded use of robots should generate savings of up to US$400 million.

Images courtesy of Petrobras. www.petrobras.com