Equinor Will Hire Brazil's Largest FPSO for Pre-Salt Projects in Carcará

Equinor Will Hire Brazil’s Largest FPSO for Pre-Salt Projects in Carcará

Written by Paulo Nogueira

Published on 08/02/2019 at 10:41

Seja o primeiro a reagir!

The Norwegian Giant Equinor Is Set to Establish New Construction That Will Be the Largest FPSO Operating in Brazil, Including Subsea Service Providers

Equinor from Norway is advancing its plans to lease a large Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and contract subsea equipment for its massive pre-salt Carcará field, with awards expected by the end of this year. “We decided to opt for a standard design FPSO and an integrated subsea contract covering the production system and umbilicals, risers, and flowlines,” said Margareth Ovrum, Executive Vice President of Development and Production at Equinor in Brazil.

She added that the FPSO will have a production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day of oil, making it the largest offshore unit operating in Brazilian waters.

“It will be a new standard design construction, with some minor additions in safety and digitalization. This allows for faster execution and lower costs,” she said, adding that the two main drivers of profitability in pre-salt projects are initial production and superior capacity.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Companies That May Eventually Supply for This Contract

Well-informed sources said that Equinor has been conducting informal talks with up to three specialists in floating units, including Modec from Japan, SBM Offshore, and possibly BW Offshore from Norway regarding pre-front-end engineering and design studies for the FPSO.

For subsea equipment, it is speculated that only two consortia, TechnipFMC and a partnership between Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, a subsidiary of Schlumberger have been invited by Equinor and are actively engaged in pre-FEED studies.

The contract on offer will not only include deepwater subsea configuration but also solutions on how to handle the enormous volumes of natural gas in the field.

It is estimated that the combined carbonate structures of Carcará, in Block BM-S-8 and the adjacent area north of Carcará, contain recoverable resources of around 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent. According to Ovrum, to address uncertainties related to associated gas in the field and eliminate value chain dependency, Equinor decided to reinject natural gas.

“We found a way to reinject gas into the reservoir to enhance recovery. We removed uncertainty and increased oil recovery,” she said.

By the time of the final investment decision for the contracting of the FPSO and the subsea package, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter, Equinor believes that a unitization agreement covering BM-S-8 and north of Carcará will be in place.

Equinor decided to opt for a phased development at Carcará, with a development plan to be submitted to the Brazilian market regulator in 2000.

The commercial production would start in the area where the first Carcará discovery was made in BM-S-8, with the FPSO being deployed by late 2023 or early 2024.

The second phase would require the development of the northern area of Carcará.

Ovrum did not wish to disclose details regarding the timing of the next phase, which may require the creation of another large production unit, but revealed that the appraisal drilling of Carcará West has been promising.

Following the completion of Carcará West, Equinor plans to drill a second well in the northern part of Carcará using the Seadrill West Saturn rig.

The company is also evaluating the possibility of returning to the Guanxuma rig in BM-S-8 later this year to complete the well and potentially conduct a production test, Ovrum said.

Equinor operates both BM-S-8 and the north of Carcará, with a 40% stake. The North American supermajor ExxonMobil and Portugal’s Galp Energia hold 40% and 20%, respectively.

Equinor Will Hire Brazil’s Largest FPSO for Pre-Salt Projects in Carcará

The Norwegian Giant Equinor Is Set to Establish New Construction That Will Be the Largest FPSO Operating in Brazil, Including Subsea Service Providers

Companies That May Eventually Supply for This Contract

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

With 7.4 trillion tons of artificial snow pumped in 10 years, an extreme operation could stabilize the West Antarctic ice sheet and prevent a sea level rise of more than 3 meters, but it would require snow cannons, ocean water, and energy on an almost industrial scale at the end of the world.

The Blood Falls of Antarctica hide a living ecosystem trapped under the ice for over 2 million years, where microbes survive without light, without oxygen, and without ever having seen the Sun.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

The CEO of Honor in Spain says that smartphones will change with AI, foldables, and even robot phones; the component crisis is making cheap models more expensive in 2026 and shifting the focus to premium.

Hong Kong leads the ranking of the most expensive fuel in the world and is suffering from a global crisis.

A 183-million-year-old fossil shines like gold inside black rock in Germany, but a microscope revealed that the golden shine is not pyrite as everyone believed for decades: it is phosphate, and the difference changes everything.

Toyota is preparing the new 2028 Corolla Cross with 7 seats, an extended wheelbase of +15 cm, up to 4.65 m in length, hybrid with 100 km in electric mode, more efficient 1.5 and 2.0 turbo engines, and Safety Sensing 4.0 technology with AI and remote updates.

Giant refrigerator arrives in Ceará with a new factory to slaughter 1,000 cattle per day and promises to shake up the livestock industry in the state.

Only 25% believe in Brazil’s title at the 2026 World Cup, the lowest level of optimism in the historical series and a sign of a crisis in national confidence.

Equinor Will Hire Brazil’s Largest FPSO for Pre-Salt Projects in Carcará

The Norwegian Giant Equinor Is Set to Establish New Construction That Will Be the Largest FPSO Operating in Brazil, Including Subsea Service Providers

Companies That May Eventually Supply for This Contract

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

With 7.4 trillion tons of artificial snow pumped in 10 years, an extreme operation could stabilize the West Antarctic ice sheet and prevent a sea level rise of more than 3 meters, but it would require snow cannons, ocean water, and energy on an almost industrial scale at the end of the world.

The Blood Falls of Antarctica hide a living ecosystem trapped under the ice for over 2 million years, where microbes survive without light, without oxygen, and without ever having seen the Sun.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

The CEO of Honor in Spain says that smartphones will change with AI, foldables, and even robot phones; the component crisis is making cheap models more expensive in 2026 and shifting the focus to premium.

Scientists discover unexpected climate benefit hidden in forest soils related to atmospheric methane absorption.

Sandy unproductive land can become a highly profitable area with a simple technique that boosts soybeans and corn to over 100 sacks.

The new Kia hatch will have a range of up to 480 km, may cost up to 25,000 euros (around R$ 150,000), and promises to become one of the most affordable electric cars in Europe; meet the Kia Picanto Electric.

Viih Tube, former BBB contestant and millionaire, lives in a mansion worth R$ 8.5 million with a heated artificial lake, two cinemas, a complete spa, and a giant playroom of 120 m² for the couple’s children.

Labor shortages in the construction industry in the United States surge, and 499,000 workers need to be urgently hired to fill open positions and support ongoing large-scale projects.

Hong Kong leads the ranking of the most expensive fuel in the world and is suffering from a global crisis.

A 183-million-year-old fossil shines like gold inside black rock in Germany, but a microscope revealed that the golden shine is not pyrite as everyone believed for decades: it is phosphate, and the difference changes everything.

Toyota is preparing the new 2028 Corolla Cross with 7 seats, an extended wheelbase of +15 cm, up to 4.65 m in length, hybrid with 100 km in electric mode, more efficient 1.5 and 2.0 turbo engines, and Safety Sensing 4.0 technology with AI and remote updates.

Giant refrigerator arrives in Ceará with a new factory to slaughter 1,000 cattle per day and promises to shake up the livestock industry in the state.

Only 25% believe in Brazil’s title at the 2026 World Cup, the lowest level of optimism in the historical series and a sign of a crisis in national confidence.