Perenco Brazil and Porto do Açu signed a letter of intent to invest $110 million in what Perenco said would be the first offshore platform electrification project in Brazil’s Campos basin.

The project would deliver shore power to Perenco’s Pargo and Cherne shallow-water platforms through an 80-km subsea cable connected to an onshore substation at Porto do Açu in São João da Barra, Rio de Janeiro. The platforms currently rely on gas-fired power generation.

Porto do Açu will provide land for construction of Perenco’s onshore grid connection and the right-of-way for the subsea cable under the agreement.

Perenco said the project is designed to reduce Scope 1 emissions from its Brazilian operations. The project’s initial power consumption forecast is 35 Mw, with potential expansion to up to 60 Mw within 4 years. Startup is targeted for first-quarter 2028.

Perenco Brazil holds a 100% interest in the Pargo cluster, which includes the Pargo, Carapeba, and Vermelho fields in shallow waters offshore Rio de Janeiro. The development comprises eight fixed platforms in water depths of up to 100 m. Production has increased to about 20,000 b/d from 2,800 b/d when Perenco assumed operatorship in October 2019.