By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 11 -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) on Jan. 9 brought online the Cidade do Rio de Janeiro floating production, storage, and offloading vessel in Espadarte oil field in the Campos basin.
The new unit, under contract from MODEC International LCC, is 320 m long, 54 m wide, and 30 m tall. It is installed in 1,350 m of water and has a capacity of 100,000 b/d of oil and 2.5 million cu m/day of gas. It can store 1.6 million bbl of oil.
The unit is expected to reach its full production capacity this year. When operating at full capacity, it will be connected to nine subsea wells, five of which produce oil and gas while the other four are for water injection.
The FPSO is equipped with an oil-pumping system developed by Petrobras Research Center. The subsea centrifuge pumping system, or S-BCSS, assists in lifting the oil from the field to the platform. Compared to traditional systems, it is installed externally to the well on the sea floor expediting pump maintenance and replacement. This technology will slash operating costs, facilitate remote intervention in the connected wells, and eliminate completion rug use.
