A total of 33 floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units are expected to be sanctioned from 2019 to 2021, as oil and gas activity picks up in the offshore sector, according to data provided by Norwegian oil and gas research firm Rystad Energy.
The 15 of the FPSOs will require a production capacity above 80,000 barrels/day. This high capacity demand comes mainly from the developments in Guyana and Brazil whereas operators such as Exxon, Equinor and Petrobras are stepping up their deepwater production.
In early February, American oil major ExxonMobil announced two new discoveries offshore Guyana, at the Tilapia-1 and Haimara-1 wells, bringing the total number of discoveries on the Stabroek Block to 12.
Tilapia-1 is the fourth discovery in the Turbot area that includes the Turbot, Longtail and Pluma discoveries. Tilapia-1 encountered approximately 305 feet (93 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled to a depth of 18,786 feet (5,726 meters) in 5,850 feet (1,783 meters) of water. The well is located approximately 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) west of the Longtail-1 well.
The other discovery was at the Haimara-1 well, which encountered approximately 207 feet (63 meters) of high-quality, gas-condensate bearing sandstone reservoir. The well was drilled to a depth of 18,289 feet (5,575 meters) in 4,590 feet (1,399 meters) of water. It is located approximately 19 miles (31 kilometers) east of the Pluma-1 discovery and is a potential new area for development.
There is potential for at least five floating, production storage and offloading vessels (FPSO) on the Stabroek Block producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, Equinor has invested around $3 billion in asset acquisitions and nearly $2 billion in signature bonuses at oil auctions in the last two years alone.
We have a portfolio with the potential to produce between 300,000 and 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2030, depending on phasing of projects and exploration success. Due to our operatorship of Peregrino, we have built a competent organization that will be important for developing our coming projects and putting them into production,”
…said Anders Opedal, executive vice president for Development and Production Brazil in Equinor.
Additionally, on 1st February state-owed Petrobras announced that production started of oil and natural gas through P-67 platform, in the Lula Norte area, in the pre-salt of Santos Basin. With capacity to process up to 150 thousand barrels of oil and compress up to 6 million m³ of natural gas per day, this is the ninth unit set up in the BM-S-11 block, in line with the company’s Strategic Plan.
