By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 17 -- Brazil's state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) reported that the Seillean floating production, storage, and offloading vessel has begun operations in Golfinho field in the Espírito Santo basin. Production from the field, which is in a test phase to evaluate reservoir behavior, is currently 21,000 b/d of oil.
The Seillean FPSO will operate in the pilot production phase from the field, where the Capixaba and Cidade de Vitória FPSOs are to be sited in the first half of this year and the first half of 2007, respectively. Both units have capacities to process 100,000 b/d of oil.
Golfinho field is producing 28.5º gravity oil, Petrobras said, adding that start-up of these operations represents first oil production from deep water outside of the Campos basin.
Early last year, Petrobras drilled a well within Golfinho field boundary areas that penetrated sandy formations about 90 m thick saturated with high-quality light oil. The well was on the same block as the 1-ESS-123 well, which discovered Golfinho field (OGJ Online, Jan. 11, 2005).
