Rio de Janeiro foresees investments of R$50 billion in 5 years with the closure of 21 oil platforms. The decommissioning of the structures will be carried out by Petrobras

Rio de Janeiro should receive 50 billion reais in investments within the next four or five years with the definitive closure of 21 old oil platforms in the Campos Basin, said the State's economic development secretary, Lucas Tristão. Recently, the president of Petrobras, Roberto Castello Branco, stated that the company would invest in Rio, 54 billion dollars , but did not detail the amounts that could be pledged in decommissioning.

All 21 units that will be definitively closed in Rio belong to Petrobras or are at the service of the company, according to the secretary, who predicts that the activity will generate 50 jobs, something important for the State, the largest Brazilian oil producer facing serious economic problems.

"The most interesting thing is that all this will not influence either the collection of royalties or the production of oil, because the pre-salt has just gushed oil and gas", said Tristão, highlighting the high productivity of wells in the important producing province, unlike many areas of the Campos Basin, which are already in decline.

Oil companies are required to carry out platform decommissioning, which involves dismantling and dismantling equipment when activity in a field is no longer viable or when the useful life of the production unit comes to an end.

At the beginning of the month, Petrobras Decommissioning Manager, Eduardo Zacaron, said during an event that the company would start the decommissioning of ten oldest platforms in Brazil by 2020, six of them in the Campos Basin, in Rio: FPSOs Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Rio das Ostras, P-7, P-12, P-15 and P-33. The other units that will be decommissioned are in Sergipe and Espírito Santo.

The FPSO Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, which is out of operation, recorded cracks in the hull, with a leak of about XNUMX liters of residual oil, Petrobras said on Monday. The company did not go into detail whether the cracks are due to the aging of the equipment.

Amidst the scenario of more oil and gas fields depleted, the ANP should publish by October an update of the regulations for the deactivation of facilities, return of areas, disposal and reversal of assets.

“We are already preparing to receive these projects”, said the secretary, explaining that the State wants to place itself as a reference in the decommissioning of platforms, complying with global environmental rules, taking into account the preservation of the environment, fauna and maritime flora.

Tristão pointed out that the decommissioning segment in Rio may even go beyond oil platforms. According to him, there are about 100 abandoned vessels in Guanabara Bay, which would require decommissioning services to properly dispose of this equipment.

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