FPSO en route to Papa Terra heavy oil field offshore Brazil

June 20, 2013
The P-63 floating production, storage, and offloading vessel left the Quip/Honorio Bicalho shipyard in Rio Grande, Brazil, after the modules were integrated, and the platform was commissioned, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said.

The P-63 floating production, storage, and offloading vessel left the Quip/Honorio Bicalho shipyard in Rio Grande, Brazil, after the modules were integrated, and the platform was commissioned, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said.

The FPSO—en route to Papa Terra heavy oil field 68 miles off Rio de Janeiro in 3,940 ft of water—was converted from the BW Nisa tanker at Cosco shipyard in China. Petrobras operates Papa Terra field, which has 14-17° gravity oil in the Campos basin (OGJ Online, Feb. 8, 2010).

Petrobras believes the P-63 FPSO will help increase oil production to reach the company’s overall production target of 2.75 million b/d by 2017.

With a capacity to process 140,000 b/d of oil and compress 1 million cu m/day of gas, the unit is going to the Papa Terra field in the postsalt Campos basin. Papa Terra is operated by Petrobras with a 62.5% interest. Chevron Overseas of Brazil Ltd. holds 37.5%.

The unit arrived in Brazil in January for its final construction stages.