Brazilian major Petrobras set for boost in natural gas and crude output amid executive overhaul and tax deal
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A, the Brazilian oil and gas major known as Petrobras, said a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) is being towed to Brazil from China and will arrive in the third quarter to boost natural gas and crude output in the Campos Basin.
Petrobras said that the “FPSO Maria Quitéria” is scheduled to begin operations in the last quarter of 2024 and would advance a timeline initially planned to commence operations in 2025.
The FPSO will operate in the Jubarte field, located in the Campos Basin's pre-salt layer, offshore Espírito Santo, a state in the southeast of Brazil.
Petrobras said that the FPSO has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil and can process 5 million cubic metres of natural gas.
“The ‘FPSO Maria Quitéria’ is a floating production, storage, and offloading unit equipped with decarbonization technologies such as a combined cycle power generation system and FGRU (closed flare),” Petrobras added.
FPSO deal
Petrobras has chartered the FPSO from Yinson, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based energy infrastructure and technology company Yinson Holdings, which was also responsible for its construction.
Yinson secured a deal with Petrobras for the supply, operation, and maintenance of the FPSO back in February 2022.
The FPSO set sail for Brazil on May 7 following a naming ceremony held at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Shanghai) Shipyard in China.
The latest oil and gas project development comes as Petrobras has welcomed a new Chief Executive, Madga Chambriard, who said on June 19 that the country's President had asked her to work towards boosting the nation's economy.
Chambriard took over as the state-run energy company's CEO after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired its former CEO Jean Paul Prates last month.
Executive team
The CEO announced a new management team with the appointment of three new directors with technical know-how.
Fernando Melgarejo was appointed as Chief Financial Officer and will take over the role from Sergio Caetano Leite, who was also ousted alongside former CEO Prates.
Petrobras is also overhauling its finances as it has agreed to join a government tax-debt renegotiation programme that would result in an estimated 11.9 billion Brazilian reais ($2.19 billion) hit to its second-quarter net income.
In a securities filing, Petrobras said it had agreed to pay the Brazilian government a total of 19.8Bln reais to end several tax cases, equating to a 65 percent discount from the original amount the tax office said was owed by Petrobras.
Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry completes FPSO unit for BP-run FLNG venture off Mauritania and Senegal
China’s Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry said it had completed the construction of the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit that will be deployed as part of the BP-led floating LNG export project offshore the West African nations of Mauritania and Senegal.
Kosmos Energy, based in Dallas, Texas, is the partner of BP in the joint venture centred on the Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim gas fields, the first phase of which is about 80 percent complete.
The first Mauritania-Senegal FLNG production facility is scheduled to have first gas in early 2023.
The Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim LNG project has the FPSO as one of its key installations.
As part of support for the FPSO, mooring piles were pre-installed offshore while Cosco Shipping was completing the facility.
Cosco Shipping confirmed it had completed the construction of the FPSO at its Qidong shipyard and a completion ceremony had been held.
Dimensions
The Chinese company said the FPSO is 270 metres in length, 54.5 metres wide, 31.5 metres deep and the living quarters can accommodate 140 people.
Cosco was responsible for the FPSO’s main hull and living quarters, as well as the construction of topside modules.
“This FPSO is a key part of the Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim LNG project and will soon sail to Mauritania and Senegal to create a new energy hub in Africa,” added a statement.
In addition to the FPSO, a floating liquefaction plant is being completed at Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard.
This involves the conversion to a liquefaction facility of the conventional LNG carrier, the “Gimi”, which will have 2.5 million tonne per annum of output.
The FPSO will process gas from the Tortue-Ahmeyim field, removing heavier hydrocarbon components, prior to delivering it to the FLNG hull.
The Greater Tortue-Ahmeyim project is expected to have a second phase producing gas on the Mauritania-Senegal maritime border in partnership with the national oil and gas companies of Senegal and Mauritania, Petrosen and SMHPM respectively.
