Author: Rafael Bortoloti

Petrobras started drilling the second extension well in block SM-623 where the Sagitário prospect is located, in the Santos Basin. The well received the technical name 3-BRSA-1388D-SPS and is located in a water depth of 1,867 meters.
Petrobras announced, in January 2020 the discovery of signs of oil in the block through the extension well 3-BRSA-1370-SPS. However, the Brazilian oil company said that the initial results of the exploratory campaign were below expectations. Therefore, the state-owned company requested more time for exploratory and evaluation activities in the Sagitário area

Petrobras postponed its ongoing PSV tender that seeks to charter up to 9 vessels. The
new deadline to submit offers is now set to June 27th and along with the postponement,
Petrobras also disclosed updated technical specifications for the various vessel categories
of the tender, taking into account all of the previous revisions applied to the minimum
requirements from last year’s public tender for up to 20 PSVs which this new opportunity
derivates from.

SBM Offshore has announced that the FPSO Sepetiba left the Bomesc shipyard
in China, bound for the Mero II field, in the Santos Basin, in the Rio de Janeiro state.
Before however, the vessel will stop at Angra dos Reis, also in Rio de Janeiro, for inspections
that should happen in September.

Exploration by the FPSO should begin later this year. Likewise Alexandre de Gusmão, this SBM´s has a contract with Petrobras is valid for 22 and a half years for the FPSO Sepetiba. The vessel has the capacity to produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day and has a storage capacity of 1,400,000 barrels of oil. Petrobras is the main operator of the Mero II field.

SBM Offshore signed the financing for the FPSO Alexandre de Gusmão project in the amount of US$ 1.615 billion. The Dutch company’s vessel will be chartered by Petrobras and will operate in the Mero field, Santos Basin pre-salt Rio de Janeiro state. The contract has a duration of 22 and a half years.
The FPSO will be installed around 160 kilometres off the coast of Rio de Janeiro and will have the capacity to produce 180.000 boedand compress 12 million cubic meters of gas per day, starting scheduled for 2025.

Modec updated the market on the construction of the FPSO Bacalhau which will be installed in the field of the same name in the Santos Basin, in Rio de Janeiro state. The FPSO left the shipyard Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) in China and went to Singapore where the integration of the modules and commissioning of the vessel will take place. Oil exploration is expected to start in 2025 with a production
capacity of 210,000 boed.

TotalEnergies renewed for another year theccontract with the Norwegian company Siem
Offshore to operate the Siem Atlas and Siem Giant until June 2024. The PSVs will continue
working for the French energy company´s Lapa field project, in partnership since 2016.

The offshore market has seen last week, a newly established company to operate in ultra-deep waters: Foresea. The company originates from a restructuring of the Ocyan Drilling Unit, former Odebrecht Oil and Gas.

Foresea assures that the new company is fully independent and financially sustainable, with main shareholders a consortium of foreign investment funds that were the beneficiaries of Ocyan´s debt securities which, under the restructuring, have been converted into capital combined with a further investment of USD 197 million.

As part of the new set up, Ocyan will remain with 6,4% of shares.
Foresea starts up with 1,600 employees, 70% of whom work in their offshore assets.

Foresea owns five drillships (ODN I, ODN II, Norbe VI, Norbe VIII and Norbe IX), all under contracts as well as operator of the PRIO rig, Hunter Queen (formerly West Capricorn) which will start activities in August in the Campos Basin. Each vessel has around 170 crew members. The company will operate from offices in Rio de Janeiro and Macaé.

Equinor plans to expand the oil production in Brazil more than five times in the next 10 years.
Currently, the Norwegian company produces 90,000 barrels of oil per day (boed) while the
expectation for 2033 is to reach 500,000 boed. In an event in Rio de Janeiro last week, the
Norwegian company highlighted that it is betting on the Bacalhau field, in the Santos Basin, to
reach the objective.

Equinor has, since 2016, the participation in the field which began to be drilled
last year. The expectation is to start producing il in 2025. The company is the second largest
oil producer in the country, only behind state-owned Petrobras.

Last week, MODEC informed that FPSO Almirante Barroso MV32 started operations at
Búzios field, pre-salt region of Santos Basin. The unit comprises the fifth production module
of Búzios joining P-74, P-75, P-76 and P-77 which were already in production. Petrobras
development plan for Búzios field foresees a total of 12 production units installed. According
to Petrobras planning, the next unit targeted to start production at Buzios is FPSO Almirante
Tamandaré, in 2024.