Brazil's Petrobras' Búzios hits record 1.1 mn bpd output

As Brazil’s largest field in both production and reserves, Búzios accounts for approximately one-third of all oil production operated by Petrobras in Brazil (including partners). Considering only Petrobras’ working interest (WI), the field represents nearly half of the company’s total production.

“This record marks an important phase of production ramp-up at Búzios, which will continue to grow. We are still bringing new wells online and increasing output from the P-78 and P-79 platforms. Búzios is Petrobras’ most promising field and will continue breaking record after record,” said Petrobras President Magda Chambriard.

Eight Platforms

Búzios currently produces through eight units: P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, P-78, P-79, and the FPSOs Almirante Barroso and Almirante Tamandaré, the latter being the largest production unit in the country, with a capacity of 270,000 barrels per day.

The P-78 and P-79 platforms, the two most recent units to enter the field, are currently undergoing production ramp-up to reach their maximum production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day each.

In total, 12 FPSOs will operate in the Búzios field. The FPSOs P-80, P-82, and P-83 are still under construction, while the Búzios 12 unit is currently in the bidding phase.

“We have been able to accelerate production at Búzios and contribute to the achievement of records such as this through management strategies, engineering excellence, and innovative technologies. These efforts have enabled us to bring units out of the shipyards earlier and deploy them to the field ahead of schedule, while also preparing the field in advance to receive them,” highlighted Petrobras’ Director of Engineering, Technology and Innovation, Renata Baruzzi.

The Giant Búzios

As Brazil’s largest field in terms of reserves, Búzios contains the country’s most productive wells, located at depths exceeding 2,000 meters below the seabed.

Its reservoir thickness is equivalent to the height of Sugarloaf Mountain, and its area extends over more than twice the size of Guanabara Bay.

“The wells in Búzios have extremely high productivity due to the quality of the reservoir rock and its considerable thickness. It is a rock formation with high permeability and porosity, containing high-API-grade oil, which facilitates a strong flow of oil from the reservoir to the well,” explained Petrobras’ Director of Exploration and Production, Sylvia Anjos.

Permeability and porosity are the combined properties that determine a rock’s or soil’s ability to store and transmit fluids such as oil or gas.

Búzios is the second Petrobras field to surpass the production milestone of 1 million barrels per day. The first was Tupi, also located in the pre-salt Santos Basin.

The Búzios consortium is composed of Petrobras (operator), its Chinese partner companies CNOOC and CNODC, and PPSA, the state-owned company responsible for managing Brazil’s production-sharing contracts.

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the ALCHEMPro staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (JP)