Offshore staff
(Brazil)- Petrobras produced a record 1.85 MMbbl of oil on December 19, due to increased output in the offshore Campos basin and in mature fields, according to a company statement.
The increased output came mainly from higher production on theP-43 and P-48 FPSO's in the Barracuda and Caratinga fields, respectively. These fields contribute to the Campos basin's prolific oil output, which accounts for 80% of Petrobras' total domestic oil production.
Petrobras aims to increase output to 1.91 MMb/d in 2006 and 2.3 MMb/d in 2010. The majority of this increased output will come from new fields in the Campos basin.
In 2006 alone, the company will invest $8.51 billion in exploration and production activities. UN-Rio, one of the three Petrobras business units operating in the basin, is investing most of this capital into four new fields: Albacora Leste, Roncador, Marlim Sul and Marlim Leste.
The Albacora Leste field should start production in 2006 as the 180,000 b/dP-50 FPSO is expected to start production after investments of $1.8 billion, according to UN-Rio manager Ricardo da Silva. Petrobras has 90% and Spain's Repsol YPF has 10% of the deepwater field.
"The strategy is continually to increase production and exploration in the basin," he said. "The Campos basin has easily enough reserves for production to last another 25-30 years."
TheP-50 FPSO is expected to reach full capacity in October 2006, and will be the field's only production unit.
Albacora Leste has heavy crude of some 19° API and at a rate of 180,000 b/d it will take 25 years to exhaust reserves estimated at 400 MMbbl. With Albacora and other new fields, UN-Rio is expected to produce 1.1-1.2 MMb/d in 2010, or 52% of Petrobras' total production target, da Silva said.
12/21/2005
