Nexans, a worldwide leader in the cable industry, has been awarded a 33.5 million euro contract by Petrobras (Petroleo Brasileiro SA) to develop, manufacture and supply the electro-hydraulic control umbilicals for development of the Tambau and Urugua deepwater natural gas and oil fields, located in the Santos Basin around 130 miles offshore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The umbilicals will connect the FPSO Cidade de Santos MV20, serving the Tambau and Urugua gas and oil fields, to the subsea manifolds and then connect the manifolds to the production wells. Nexans’ specialist umbilical facility in Halden, Norway, will produce a total length of over 65 km of umbilicals, in 16 lengths, to be installed in water depth reaching 1,500 metres. The umbilicals will weigh 2,400 tonnes, which is exceptionally heavy for a subsea umbilical. Petrobras aims to develop production from the two fields within a very short time scale, so the umbilicals are being manufactured on a fast-track basis to ensure delivery for the first quarter of 2010.
Nexans is a global player in the infrastructure, industry, building and Local Area Network markets. It addresses a series of market segments from energy, transport and telecom networks to shipbuilding, oil and gas, nuclear power, automotive, electronics, aeronautics, handling and automation.
The company had sales of 6.8 billion euros in 2008. It is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris.