The company’s head of exploration and production, Sylvia dos Anjos, said that Petrobras wants to increase production from several FPSOs operating offshore Brazil.
One of them is its largest FPSO in operation, the Almirante Tamandare, located on the Buzios field in the Santos basin. The unit is chartered from SBM.
The unit started operations in February and reached peak production of 225,000 barrels of oil per day three months ahead of schedule. According to Anjos, the production could be raised to 250,000 barrels per day.
This is not the ceiling for the FPSO, as the company believes that it could increase its capacity even further. Petrobras’ director of engineering, technology and innovation, Renata Baruzzi, revealed that SBM is already working to increase it to as high as 270,000 barrels per day.
However, this would require approval from Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama and the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP).
In addition to the Almirante Tamandare, Petrobras is also evaluating the possibility of increasing production at other units, such as the Duque de Caxias FPSO, a unit chartered from Modec operating on the Mero field, also in the Santos Basin.
A third unit is also under consideration for a production increase, but the name of the FPSO was left undisclosed.
