Petrobras starts up 7th FPSO on presalt Búzios Field offshore Brazil

Petrobras has started operations at the seventh FPSO on the giant Búzios Field in the presalt deepwater Santos Basin offshore Brazil.

P-78, supplied by Seatrium, arrived from Singapore last October. It is designed to produce 180,000 bbl/d of oil and to compress 7.2 MMcm/d of gas.

The FPSO, part of the Búzios 6 project, raises installed production capacity over the field to 1.15 MMbbl/d, and it will export gas to Brazil through a connection to the Rota 3 gas pipeline system.

This should lift the supply of gas to the mainland by up to 3 MMcm daily.

P-78, which incorporates design improvements based on lessons learned from other presalt FPSOs, features various technologies for reduced emissions and enhanced operational efficiency, Petrobras added.

These including a flare gas recovery system, variable-speed drives for the pumps and compressors, technology to separate and reinject produced carbon into the reservoir for storage, and integration of energy arising between hot and cold streams during oil and gas processing.

The FPSO will be connected to six subsea producer and seven injector wells, equipped with intelligent completion systems to support production management. SURF facilities comprise rigid production, injection and gas export pipelines, and some flexible lines for service operations, all engineered for high-capacity production from the wells.

Commissioning took place onboard the P-78 during its voyage to Brazil in October, dispensing with the need for a stopover in sheltered waters offshore Brazil before reaching the field location.

This was Seatrium’s 37th FPSO delivery to Petrobras. It is also the first of six P-Series FPSOs Seatrium is constructing for the company that should collectively boost production capacity by 1.305 MMbbl/d.

Last October output from Búzios surpassed 1 MMbbl/d. The field is 180 km offshore Rio de Janeiro in water depths of more than 2,000 m. Other partners are CNOOC, CNODC and PPSA, which manages the production sharing contracts.