Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) expects the Marechal Duque de Caxias FPSO to begin operating on Mero field in September 2024. The ship left the shipyard in Yantai, China, enroute to the Santos basin presalt on Feb. 2, 2024.
The FPSO, part of the third definitive Mero system (Mero 3) on the Libra block, has capacity to produce up to 180,000 b/d oil and compress up to 12 MMcfd of gas and is expected to increase installed production capacity of the field to 590,000 bo/d.
The production system provides for connection of 15 wells (8 oil producers, 7 water and gas injectors) and utilizes underwater infrastructure consisting of 80 km of rigid production and injection pipelines, 47 km of flexible service pipelines and 44 km of control umbilicals.
The FPSO will be connected to high pressure subsea separation technology (HISEP) equipment, which will separate the oil and gas at the bottom of the ocean and reinject the gas directly into the reservoir (OGJ Online, Jan. 8, 2024).
In addition to the Marechal Duque de Caxias FPSO, Petrobras will put another unit into operation in Mero in 2025.
The unitized Mero field is operated by Petrobras (38.6%). Partners are TotalEnergies EP Brasil Ltd. (19.3%), Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltd, (19.3%), CNOOC Petroleum Brasil Ltda. (9.65%), CNOOC Petroleum Brasil Ltda. (9.65%), and Pré-Sal Petróleo SA (3.5%).
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).