Equinor, together with license partners Repsol Sinopec Brasil and Petrobras, have approved an FPSO-based development concept for BM-C-33, a gas/condensate field located in the Campos Basin pre-salt in Brazil.
Subsea wells will be tied back to the FPSO located at the field. Gas and oil/condensate will be processed at the floater to sales specifications and exported. Crude will be offloaded by shuttle tankers and shipped to the international market after ship-to-ship transfer. A newbuild hull has been selected to accommodate the field’s planned 30-year lifetime.
“BM-C-33 holds substantial volumes of gas,” said Veronica Coelho, Equinor’s country manager in Brazil. “A completion of the ongoing liberalization of the natural gas market in Brazil in line with the current plan, is key for the further development of the project. BM-C-33 is an asset that can generate value for the society, both through the creation of direct and indirect jobs, ripple effects, and through a gas supply that can induce industrial growth, as has happened in other countries.”
Gas export capacity is planned for 16 million cubic meters per day with average exports expected to be 14 million cubic meters per day. Daily oil processing capacity is of 20,000 cubic meters per day.
The gas-export solution is based on an integrated offshore gas pipeline from the FPSO to a new dedicated onshore gas-receiving facility inside the Petrobras TECAB site at Cabiúnas, before connecting to the domestic gas-transmission network.