Offshore staff
RIO DE JANEIRO – Petrobras, as operator of the Libra block consortium in the presalt Santos basin offshore Brazil, has started contracting suppliers to design, construct, install and test its patented HISEP technology.
This is designed to separate and reinject on the seabed gas with high CO2 content produced with oil.
The contracting process follows conceptual evaluations and pilot tests onshore, in which the company and its suppliers conducted conceptual studies and performance validations for the subsea pumps that will reinject CO2-rich gas into the reservoir.
Petrobras aims to select its preferred manufacturer by this August, with the equipment then installed in 2025.
The company believes HISEP could open up deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production in regions featuring reservoir fluids with a high gas-to-oil ratio and CO2 content.
HISEP is designed to provide increased oil production by freeing up space that would otherwise be occupied in the topsides gas processing plant.
Pilot testing is planned for the Mero 3 area in the Libra block, which is due to start production in 2024. And following two years of testing, and with the technology proven, the it could be deployed in other areas off Brazil such as Libra Central and Jupiter.
Once proven, it should also be possible to develop offshore production platforms with smaller and less complex gas processing plants, Petrobras added, with lower construction and operating costs.
Other partners in the Libra consortium are Shell (20%), TotalEnergies (20%), CNPC (10%), and CNOOC (10%). The consortium is managed by Pré-Sal Petróleo.
01/19/2022
