Subsea 7 ready for next phase at troubled Brazil project -BG

The first of four giant riser systems that engineering group Subsea 7 is building for Brazilian offshore oil fields was ready to sail on Friday, energy firm BG said, a relief for Subsea 7 after big, costly delays to the project.

Subsea 7 warned last month it was suffering a series of issues at the $1 billion ultradeep Guará-Lula project, resulting in a cost blowout and a six-month delay in the offshore phase of the contract for the riser systems - subsea piping to carry oil.

"The first of the four buoyancy-supported risers was due to sail this morning," said Chris Finlayson, chief executive of BG, one of the partners in the Guara and Lula fields operated by Petrobras.

"It will then take around three weeks to tether that in place, at which point the steel catenary risers can start to be installed," Finlayson said.

Subsea 7 declined to comment.

It had predicted last month that the first of four riser systems would sail in mid-July, conditions permitting. The engineering company is assembling the systems in Brazil, where they are then loaded for transport offshore.