Petrobras has set a target year of 2020 for when it will install the first floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit of its joint venture project in the huge Libra pre-salt field in the Santos Basin off Brazil, according to Reuters.
All told, the consortium plans to have four FPSOs operating in the Libra, each producing up to 180,000 barrels of oil or gas equivalent per day when the project is in full flow.
Brazil’s state oil firm Petrobras, with a 40% share, is the major stakeholder in the consortium developing the Libra. Its partners are Shell and Total with 20% each and CNPC and CNOOC with 10% each.
With the site 125 miles offshore Rio de Janeiro, a pipeline is prohibitive so the companies are looking at taking natural gas not used to power the production system and reinjecting it in a way that improves the rate of oil production.
The project is the first production-sharing operation involving Petrobras and outside companies since Brazil’s government loosened regulations covering the energy firm, which is deeply in debt and embroiled in a massive bribery scandal.
The bidding process for FPSO construction projects was restarted earlier this month having been cancelled a year before because bid prices were too high.
