Petrobras has started production from the Cidade de Saquarema floating production and storage offloading (FPSO) unit on the giant Lula field, offshore Brazil.
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Cidade de Saquarema, from SBM Offshore. |
Production at the first well, 8-LL-81D-RJS, began on 8 July with a stabilized rate of 30,000 b/d as of yesterday (11 July), the Brazilian oil giant confirmed.
The Central Lula field well is in the Santos Basin, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. It marks the company’s 10th large production system operating in the pre-salt layer. The Lula Central project scope includes 18 wells, nine production and nine injection wells.
The Cidade de Saquarema is capable of processing 150,000 bbl, compressing up to 6 MMcm/d of natural gas, and is currently moored in 2120m water depth.
The newly integrated FPSO left the Brasa shipyard in Niterói, Rio de Janiero, on 22 May. It was converted from a very large crude carrier (VLCC) at the CXG shipyard in China. Nine of its modules were manufactured in Brazil, where work was also completed to integrate them with the processing plant.
The FPSO will operate under a 20-year charter with Tupi as well as an operations contract with the BM-S-11 consortium.
Lula Central is the second system to start up in Brazil in 2016, followed by the Cidade de Maricá in the Lula Alto area, and joins the company’s other nine systems already operating in the pre-salt layer of the Santos and Campos basins. Petrobras has its sights set to achieve its annual target of 2.145 MMb/d in Brazil for the year.
The systems operating in the pre-salt now include:
The Petrobras-operated Lula Central area is within the BM-S-11 concession block. Petrobras owns 65% stake, with Shell subsidiary BG E&P Brasil (25%) and Petrogal Brasil (10%).
The Cidade de Saquarema is owned and operated by a joint venture owned by affiliated companies of SBM Offshore, Mitsubishi Corp., Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, and Queiroz Galvao Oleo e Gas S.A. in which SBM Offshore's shareholding is 56%.
Petrobras’ 11th large pre-salt system is due to come on line in the Q3 on the Lapa field, in the Santos Basin, through the installation of the FPSO Cidade de Caraguatatuba.
Yesterday (11 July), Petrobras' total oil and natural gas production in June was reported at 2.9 MMboe/d. Output for the month increased 2% from the amount produced in May at 2.83 MMboe/d.
In Brazil alone, Petrobras reported 2.7 MMboe/d, which the company attributed to the new well start ups at the Cidade de Maricá and Cidade de Itaguaí FPSOs, in Lula field, in the Lula Alto and Iracema areas, respectively.
Read more:
Brazil pre-salt hits 1 MMb/d production
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