Petrobras started up production on platform P-63, connected to well PPT-12, in the Papa Terra field, located in the southern Campos Basin.
The FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) platform is anchored at a water depth of 1,200 meters and has capacity to process 140,000 barrels of oil per day, compress 1,000,000 m3 of gas and inject 340,000 barrels of water. It is the first production system to be deployed in Papa Terra.
The new FPSO is one of a number of production projects planned for this year and included in the 2013-2017 Business and Management Plan. A combination of reservoirs containing 14 to 17 API crude and the deep-water location makes Papa Terra one of the most challenging projects ever conceived by Petrobras, calling for various innovative solutions.
Besides FPSO P-63, which is to be connected to 5 production and 11 injection wells, Tension Leg Wellhead Platform (TLWP) platform P-61 will also operate in the area, connected to 13 production wells. It is the first TLWP to operate in Brazil and will be towed to its final location this month.
Wells will be connected to P-63 using flexible subsea pipes with electric heating (known as Integrated Production Bundles - IPB). P-61 will be connected to dry completion wells, with control valves located on the platform rather than on the sea bed. All 18 production wells will be fitted with submersible centrifugal pumps. Output from P-61 will be transferred by multiphase flow to FPSO P-63.
P-61 will also be equipped with a Tender Assisted Drilling (TAD) support rig, which will be towed from China over the next few days. The oil will be offloaded using shuttle tankers and excess gas not consumed by production units will be reinjected into a nearby reservoir.
The project is being developed by Petrobras, the operator with a 62.5% stake, in partnership with Chevron holding the remaining 37.5%. The location is 110 km off the Brazilian coast at water depths varying from 400 to 1,400 meters.
P-63 was converted into an FPSO from oil tanker BW Nisa at the Cosco Shipyard in China, and the last stages of construction were carried out at Canteiro da QUIP/Honório Bicalho, in Rio Grande (RS). The work was executed by a consortium formed by Quip (Queiroz Galvão, UTC, Iesa and Camargo Correa) and BW Offshore.