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New FPSO Gets Under Way for Campos Basin

anita garibaldi
Image courtesy Petrobras

Published Oct 8, 2022 1:16 AM by The Maritime Executive

Japanese operator Modec has taken delivery of a new FPSO for Petrobras' Campos Basin Renewal Plan, a $16 billion, four-year program to revitalize a maturing region.  

The FPSO Anita Garibaldi has left the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore (DSIC) shipyard in Dalian, China and is en route to Brazil for deployment in the Marlim and Voador fields in the Campos Basin. Petrobras will operate the vessel on long-term charter from Modec, and production is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2023.

The Campos Basin's renewal plan is aimed at reviving mature assets operated by the company in the region. With the capacity to produce up to 80,000 bpd and process up to seven million cubic meters of gas per day, the new FPSO will be strategic for the basin. It is designed to operate at a water depth of 670 meters and have a storage capacity of 1 million barrels of oil. The new FPSO will be connected to 43 wells, with peak production scheduled for 2026.

After leaving the shipyard, Anita Garibaldi is expected to undergo tests in the docking area for about four days before proceeding with her trip to Brazil. Before reaching the Campos Basin, the new FPSO will head for a shipyard in Aracruz where it will undergo commissioning, regulatory inspections and operational testing.

The FPSO is the second unit in Petrobras’ Marlim and Voador revitalization project, which will see the replacement of nine older platforms currently operating in the fields. The first new FPSO, Anna Nery, is scheduled to start production in the first quarter of 2023. The two units will be connected to 75 wells and will allow the expansion of current production at Marlim and Voador to more than 150,000 bpd.

Petrobras has been making significant investments in FPSOs, which are a preferred development method in the region. This week, it awarded Sembcorp Marine a $3 billion contract for a new FPSO that will be deployed at the Buzios offshore oil field in Santos Basin. The future FPSO P-82 is scheduled for delivery in 2026 and will provide about 225,000 bpd of oil processing capacity, along with 12 million cbm of gas processing capacity. 

In August, the company contracted Keppel Shipyard to build a $2.9 billion FPSO scheduled for completion in the first half of 2026. The P-80 will have a production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day and a storage capacity of two million barrels of oil.