Brazil’s Petrobras set to begin new FPSO operations in Búzios field

The Almirante Barroso FPSO of Brazil’s national oil company Petrobras is set to begin operations in April, a source with knowledge of the matter told BNamericas, speaking on condition of anonymity.  

The fifth platform to be installed in the Búzios field, Almirante Barroso arrived from China at the Brasfels shipyard in Rio de Janeiro last October for the commissioning and acceptance test phases. 

In February, it left the shipyard bound for the final location, in the Santos basin pre-salt, 180km off Rio’s coast. 

The FPSO is capable of processing 150,000b/d of oil, 6Mm3/d (million cubic meters per day) of gas, 240,000b/d of water injection, and it has a minimum storage capacity of 1.4Mb of oil.

Japan’s Modec is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, mobilization chartering and operations of Almirante Barroso, including topsides processing equipment as well as hull and marine systems. 

Sofec, a Modec company, designed and supplied the spread mooring system for the floating unit.

Búzios produced 771,713boe/d in February, about 20% of national output, according to the latest figures from sector regulator ANP. 

The field's production is currently carried out through FPSOs P-74, P-75, P-76 and P-77. 

By 2027, Petrobras plans to install six more FPSOs in Búzios: Almirante Tamandaré, P-78, P-79, P-80, P-82 and P-83. 

This year, three additional floating production units are scheduled to come online: Anita Garibaldi and Anna Nery, in the Marlim field, and Sepetiba, in Mero.