Offshore staff
RIO DE JANEIRO – Petrobras’ executive board has approved the start of contracting processes for three FPSOs for the Búzios field in the presalt Santos basin offshore Brazil.
The FPSOs are part of the asset’s development plan, which foresees 12 units installed by the end of the decade. At the end of the development phase, the Búzios field is expected to produce more than 2 MMboe/d, becoming Petrobras’ largest asset, with the highest production.
The first of the three new units to start operations will be the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré, the sixth production system in the field. Production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2024. The FPSO will be chartered and will have a processing capacity of 225,000 b/d of oil and 12 MMcm/d of gas. It will be the largest oil production unit operating on the Brazilian coast and one of the largest in the world, Petrobras claimed.
The other two units will be contracted in EPC mode and will have the capacity to process 180,000 b/d of oil and 7.2 MMcm/d of gas. The P-78 and P-79 are expected to start operating in 2025.
The company expects to award the contracts in 2021.
There are currently four units in operation at Búzios, which account for more than 20% of Petrobras’ total production and more than 30% of production in the presalt fields. On July 13, these platforms achieved a new collective production record of 674,000 b/d of oil and 844,000 boe/d.
A fifth FPSO, the Almirante Barroso, is under construction. The vessel is expected to have a production capacity of 150,000 b/d of oil. Production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2022.
In November 2019, Petrobras acquired operatorship and 90% interest in the Búzios field. CNODC Brasil Petróleo e Gás Ltda. and CNOOC Petroleum Brasil Ltda. each acquired a 5% stake.
07/24/2020
