Petrobras sets new presalt production records in June

July 21, 2014
In June, Petrobras's presalt production in the Santos and Campos basins increased 6.7% from May, with a volume of 477,000 b/d, setting another monthly record.

Offshore staff

RIO DE JANEIROPetrobras’s June oil production in Brazil averaged 2,008,000 b/d, up 1.7% from May’s production of 1.975 MMb/d. Including production operated by Petrobras for its partners in Brazil, the volume reached 2,135,000 b/d, up 2.1% from last month’s production of 2,092, b/d. In June, presalt production in the Santos and Campos basins increased 6.7% from May, with a volume of 477,000 b/d, setting another monthly record. A new presalt daily production record of 520,000 b/d was established on June 24. These volumes include the production operated by Petrobras for its partners.

These records are a consequence of new projects in the presalt layer, as well as the high production levels of the wells from Lula and Sapinhoá fields.

Another important record in the presalt was the conclusion of the first well drilled and completed in just 92 days, which occurred on June 30 in well 8-LL-38D-RJS, in the area of Lula/Iracema Sul.

Another highlight of this month was the startup of the natural gas flow produced in platformsP-58, at the north area of Parque das Baleias, in the Campos basin presalt, and the FPSO Cidade de Paraty, at Lula Nordeste area, Santos basin presalt. The gas flow to the Cacimbas (P-58) and Caraguatatuba (Cidade de Paraty) gas treatment units allowed not only the growth in gas production, but also the growth in liquids produced, as presalt’s gas is richer. The startup of the gas from these platforms allowed Petrobras to reach a record of domestic natural gas delivery to the market on July 14 with a volume of 48.1 MMcm (1,698 MMcf). 

The company’s oil and natural gas production in Brazil in the same month was 2,426,000 boe/d, a 1.6% rise from May (2,387,000 boe/d). Including the production operated by Petrobras for its partner companies in Brazil, the volume reached 2,610,000 boe/d, up 2% from May’s production of 2,558,000 boe/d.

Petrobras’ production growth traces to the volume increase produced by platformP-62, that started operating in May in the Roncador field of the Campos basin. A total of 22 wells, 14 oil and gas producers and eight water injectors, will be interconnected to this unit within the next few months. This FPSO unit can process 180,000 boe and 6 MMcm (212 MMcf) of natural gas per day.

The startup of a new well connected to platformP-48, at Caratinga field, producing from the Campos basin presalt since the end of May, also contributed to the rise in production. The return of platform P-51, in the Marlim Sul field, in the same basin, after the scheduled maintenance stoppage and the startup of the FPSO Dynamic Producer extended well test (EWT) at Iara Oeste in the Santos basin also contributed to this growth.
 
In total, eight new offshore wells in the Santos and Campos basins started up production in June. Alongside them, 30 new subsea wells started up operation in the first half of the year, twice the amount that which started up production in the same period last year. With the start of operation of the pipe-laying support vessel Polar Onyx on June 24, and the arrival of six more units by the end of 2014, the company’s capacity to interconnect new wells in the second half will be even greater.

According to the long-term planning, scheduled maintenance stoppages were implemented in some platforms in June, which led to an interruption of 19,000 b/d of average production in the month. The main units under maintenance in June were: FPSOCidade do Rio de Janeiro, in Espadarte field; P-50, in Albacora Leste field; P-25, in Albacora field; FPSO Marlim Sul, in Marlim Sul field; and P-33, in Marlim field. All these units are located in the Campos basin.

The Operational Efficiency Increase Program, initiated in 2012, continues to show excellent results: the total operational efficiency of all production units in Brazil reached 91.6% in June, the highest level in the last 50 months. The last time total efficiency surpassed this result was on April 2010.

In 2H 2014, platformP-61 will go on stream in the Papa-Terra field (Campos basin postsalt), which will be interconnected to the tender-assisted drilling semisubmersible SS-88. In addition, FPSOs Cidade de Mangaratiba, in the Lula/Iracema Sul field, and Cidade de Ilhabela, in the northern part of the Sapinhoá field, both in the Santos basin presalt, will be installed by the end of the year.

June´s natural gas production of 66.4 MMcm/d (2,345MMcf/d), surpassed by 1.5% last month’s production and has established a new monthly record for Petrobras’ natural gas production. The total production operated by Petrobras, including the share operated for its partners, was 75.54 MMcm/d (2,667 MMcf/d), up 2.1% from May.

07/21/2014