Subsea 7 has scooped a major contract from Petrobras related to the development of the Búzios 8 field located in the pre-salt Santos Basin offshore Brazil. The contract scope includes engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and precommissioning (EPCI) of approximately 126 km of rigid risers and flowlines, 98 km of flexible lines, and 88 km of umbilicals and associated infrastructure, and installation of FPSO mooring lines and hookup. Subsea 7 defines a major contract as one over $750 million in value.
After postponements, Petrobras opened bids related to the award last week with Subsea 7’s $6.6-billion proposal being the most affordable. Saipem’s bid was reportedly second at $7.3 billion.
Project management and engineering will begin immediately at Subsea 7’s offices in Rio de Janeiro and Paris. Fabrication of the pipelines will take place at Subsea 7’s spoolbase at Ubu, Brazil, and offshore operations are scheduled to be executed in 2024 and 2025 using one of Subsea 7’s fleet of rigid-reeled pipelay vessels.
“We are delighted to have been awarded this contract by Petrobras and we look forward to reinforcing our strong, collaborative relationship as we deliver Búzios 8,” said Daniel Hiller, Subsea 7's vice president, Brazil.
The field is scheduled to start operating in 2025, including the FPSO P-79 which will have the capacity to produce 180,000 BOPD. The unit is being built by a Daewoo/Saipem consortium.
Búzios 8 is slated to have 15 wells, including eight producers, six water/gas injectors, and one water injector.
In 2020, Petrobras revised its exploration and production portfolio with a renewed focus on deep and ultradeep waters. The company lowered its estimated capex for E&P to between $40–$50 billion, down from the $64 billion announced in its 2020–2024 strategic plan. It said then that the Búzios field would represent 35% of its total E&P investment for 2021–2025.
