SLB joint venture OneSubSea has secured a contract award from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for two subsea raw seawater injection (RWI) systems to increase recovery from the productive Búzios field.
The subsea RWI systems will help to increase the production of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, which are currently bottlenecked in their water injection capacities, SLB said in a news release.
Once operational, the RWI systems will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per barrel of oil as “they are a more efficient means of reservoir pressurization to increase recovery when compared with the conventional alternative of topside injection systems,” the Houston, Texas-based energy technology company stated.
Under the contract, SLB OneSubsea will provide two complete subsea RWI systems to support Petrobras’ FPSOs P-74 and P-75, and they will each consist of a subsea seawater injection pump, umbilical system, and topside variable speed drive.
“As deepwater basins mature, we see more and more secondary recovery opportunities emerging,” SLB OneSubsea CEO Mads Hjelmeland said. “Subsea raw seawater injection is a well-proven application with a strong business case that we think should become mainstream. By placing the system directly on the seabed, we free up space and reduce fuel needs for the FPSOs as well as lessen the power needs for the injection systems. It’s a win-win for Petrobras, and one that we are very excited about. This contract will consolidate our solid local content presence in the country, contributed by the largest manufacturing plants and state-of-the-art subsea service facilities in Brazil”.
Further, SLB was awarded a new contract by Petrobras for integrated services across all offshore fields operated by Petrobras in Brazil.
SLB will oversee the construction of more than 100 deepwater wells, utilizing advanced drilling, cementing and drilling fluid technologies on up to nine ultra-deepwater rigs, according to a separate statement.
The services will primarily be provided in the Campos, Santos, and Espírito Santo Basins, along with other Petrobras-operated fields, including exploratory wells. SLB noted that operations in the Equatorial Margin are also planned, pending exploration license approval within the three-year contract period beginning April 2025.
According to the statement, the technologies to be deployed under the contract include transition technologies such as SLB’s Ora intelligent wireline formation testing platform and SpectraSphere fluid mapping-while-drilling service.
The Ora platform provides real-time reservoir characterization, minimizing risks and maximizing productivity while significantly reducing emissions. SpectraSphere provides accurate pressure measurements, performs downhole fluid analysis, and acquires high-quality samples while drilling, resulting in better steering decisions and optimized productivity, SLB said.
“SLB has maintained a strong relationship with Petrobras as a technology partner for many decades,” Wallace Pescarini, president of the Offshore Atlantic basin at SLB, said. “This contract builds on our existing work with Petrobras across its offshore basins and introduces new technologies that enhance both operational and environmental efficiency. Moreover, it aligns with our robust local content journey in Brazil and with our well-distributed operational footprint across the country”.
Wllisses Menezes Afonso, Executive Manager of Wells at Petrobras, said, “This investment of approximately $800 million will allow us to intensify our activities in several basins, revitalizing already productive fields and exploring new areas, with new technologies, with a focus on making our operations even safer and more efficient”.
Source: by Rocky Teodoro