Shuttle tankers transport the oil from the field, and surplus gas not consumed on the platforms is injected into a nearby reservoir.
The P-61 topside was built at the Keppel Felds shipyard in Singapore. The hull and topside were combined at the Brasfels shipyard in the city of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro.
The presence of reservoirs with 14-17° gravity oil, as well as the project’s large water depths, have made the development of Papa-Terra field one of Petrobras’s most complex projects, the company says.
P-61 is connected to a tender-assisted drilling platform, and equipped with a drilling and well completion rig, representing the first time that such a platform has operated off Brazil. Its wells are dry completion, meaning well control valves reside on the platform instead of on the sea floor.
The P-63 production wells are connected to the platform through subsea flexible pipes equipped with electric heating known as an Integrated Production Bundle. The field’s 18 production wells feature subsea centrifuge pumps.
Petrobras operates Papa Terra with 62.5% interest, partnering with Chevron Corp. 37.5%, whose presence Petrobras says is significant given Chevron’s experience with such complex deepwater projects.
