Petrobras announced on 30 October the Mero 3 FPSO had received first production.
The Marechal Duque de Caxias FPSO, chartered from MISC Group, can store up to 1.4 million bbl of oil, handle up to 180,000 BOPD, and compress up to 12 MMcm/d of gas from the Petrobras-operated pre-salt field in the deep waters of the Santos Basin.
The Mero 3 FPSO will serve eight production wells and seven gas and water injection wells, which will be interconnected to the platform subsea. Already on the field are the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra, FPSO Guanabara (Mero 1), and FPSO Sepetiba (Mero 2). Now onstream, Mero 3, sanctioned in August 2020, brings the field’s installed production capacity from 410,000 BOPD to 590,000 BOPD. Mero 4 is under construction, with startup expected in 2025, according to Mero partner TotalEnergies.
Marechal Duque de Caxias will later be connected to the HISEP pilot project, which will use high-pressure subsea separation technology, according to TotalEnergies. Currently under development, this pilot project will separate oil from CO2-rich gas at the bottom of the ocean and reinject the gas directly into the reservoir. According to Petrobras, HISEP will be operational in 2028, making it possible to free up space in the surface gas processing plant and reducing greenhouse gasses.
According to MISC, in addition to being the first FPSO equipped to work with HISEP technology, it also incorporates advanced process automation and is equipped with predictive maintenance systems. FPSO Marechal Duque de Caxias was named in January and departed Yantai, China, in February for Brazil. It was engineered for a 30-year lifespan without drydocking.
Mero, in the Libra block, is a unitized field under the Libra Production Sharing Contract, which Petrobras operates with 38.6% interest on behalf of partners Shell Brasil (19.3%), TotalEnergies (19.3%), CNOOC (9.65%), CNPC (9.65%), and Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A (3.5%), which in addition to managing the contract, acts as the federal government's representative in the noncontracted area.
Other Petrobras updates
Just a couple of weeks before Petrobras achieved first oil at Mero 3, the Brazilian operator announced starting production to the FPSO Maria Quitéria in the pre-salt Jubarte field in the Campos Basin.
And on 25 October, Petrobras announced the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré, destined for the Búzios field, had arrived in Brazilian waters from China. Once commissioned, it will be able to produce up to 225,000 BOPD from the pre-salt field in the ultradeepwaters of the Santos Basin. Búzios has been onstream since 2018 and now has five other platforms operating in the field: FPSOs P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, and Almirante Barroso.
Petrobras operates Búzios on behalf of partners CNOOC, CNODC, and PPSA, which manages the production sharing contracts.
