3R Petroleum said that it is ready to resume production at the Papa-terra cluster after a stoppage due to an issue caused by the energy generation system of the Tension Leg Wellhead Platform (TLWP) 3R-2. Before the stoppage, Papa-terra was operated with 4 production wells and an average production of 17,000 barrels per day.
Tuesday this week, Petrobras released a third partial result notification to their public PSV tender, originally intended to hire up to 20 vessels. In the new notice, Petrobras qualified one more vessel, reaching a total of 14 vessels awarded out of the 34 originally presented in the opportunity. Petrobras have also officially disqualified a total of 12 vessels, 3 for not meeting set delivery windows and 9 for excessive pricing (over Petrobras designated budget for the tender). With yet another partial disclosure, 8 vessels remain unassessed by Petrobras which leaves the question: with 3 other SEP tendering processes also closed and pending awards for up 18 more vessels and a very limited number of candidates left, can Petrobras afford themselves to fix even more vessels for their public tender? The 3 other closed opportunities are intended to charter similar PSVs for campaigns at Búzios, Roncador, Mero and Tupi fields, all operated by Petrobras under JVs with several different Oil Companies.
Dutch SBM Offshore announced the construction of the 3 FPSOs to be chartered by Petrobras is proceeding. The production units, all being built in China, have been impacted by the frequent restrictions placed in the country to contain expected periodical surges of COVID-19 cases. SBM will deliver two units for Mero field, namely FPSO Sepetiba (Mero 2) and FPSO Alexandre de Gusmão (Mero 4), which are allegedly 75% and 25-50% complete, respectively and one unit to Búzios field, namely FPSO Almirante Tamandaré (Búzios 7), with 50-75% of construction complete. According to Petrobras´ latest strategic plan, the Mero 2 and Mero 4 units are expected to kick-off production in 2023 and 2025 whilst the Búzios 7 by 2024.
Brazilian independent oil company Enauta has announced that FPSO Petrojarl I has started producing once again after a preventive maintenance on its water-cooling system. The company declared that the production unit has been producing in 98% uptime over the last three months after recertification process has been concluded. Petrojarl I has a production capacity of 30,000 barrels of oil per day and a storage capacity of 180,000 barrels. She is located at Atlanta field in santos Basin and fully owned by Enauta.
Shell have returned to their quest of finding an AHTS vessel to assist in the heading control of FPSO Espírito Santo and likely other internal demands from their producing fields as well. The Dutch company had already issued a spot requirement before the Carnival holidays but, due to an extremely high utilization of AHTS vessels in Brazil, there are no available candidates at the moment. The requirement is firm for 3 days with additional 15 days options and commencement window set for March 2nd or earlier, in case any options arise.
DOF Subsea Brasil has secured a contract for a SURF (Subsea Umbilical Riser and Flowline) project in Brazil. The Norwegian base offshore support company will mobilize RSV Geoholm for the contract. Mobilization is set to start in March 2023. The term contract is for 180 firm days with extension options to be agreed. The Charterer has not yet been disclosed, we shall report further when more info is made available.
Enauta’s FPSO Petrojarl I has entered preventive maintenance which should be concluded by the beginning of next week. The company explained that this type of activity is part of the operational routine of floating production units that normally operate with an efficiency uptime close to 90%.
According to Enauta, Petrojarl I had an operation rate of 92% in 2022 and this maintenance is included in the FPSO operation plan hence shall not affect future oil production estimates.
Subsea7´s PLSV Seven Cruzeiro has been awarded a contract extension by Petrobras. With the new agreement, she is firm with the Brazilian oil company until November 2023.
After receiving non-binding proposals from Karoon, Enauta and PRIO for the sale of Parque das Conchas field in Campos basin, Shell decided to withdraw the sale of the asset. The field currently produces through FPSO Espirito Santo. In parallel, the company is reviewing the proposals received for the decommissioning of Bijupira and Salema fields, also located in Campos basin.
A Final Investment Decision for Lapa field was made by Total Energies earlier this week. The French oil major is the operator of the field with 45% interest. Shell and Repsol Sinopec are partners with 30% and 25% respectively. It has been decided that Lapa Southwest region will be developed by FPSO Lapa, currently located 12 Km away in the Northeast region of the field, with which three wells will be connected. Expectations are for an increased production of 25,000 bopd and first oil to be produced in 2025. Total investment for this project will be of $1 Billion.
Petrobras has announced that FPSO Guanabara has recently reached its full production capacity. Installed in Mero field, pre-salt of Santos basin, the unit produced 180,000 barrels of oil in one day 8 months after its operation has started. Mero field also counts with FPSO Pioneiro de Libra producing 50,000 bopd. Petrobras is the operator of the consortium with 38,6% interests, balance split between Shell, Total, CNODC, CNOOC and PPSA.
Perenco’s floating storage and offloading unit, FSO Pargo departed Dubai and is on its way to Brazil. The vessel spent almost one and a half years in a yard, working to extend its life spaN as well as necessary adaptations to comply with Brazilian regulations and project specifics. The FSO is expected to be moored at Pargo field in Campos Basin by April, aiming to start operations in August 2023. The installation of the unit is part of a USD 400 million investment plan, targeting the enhancement of the field’s production throughout the concession. Ever since taking the operatorship of the Pargo cluster, which comprises the fields Pargo, Carapeba and Vermelho, PERENCO’s asset’s production had already increased from 2.800 bpd to 12.000 bpd, with the expectation to increase it by a further 25% until the end of this year.
