Macaé in Equinor's sights: the Cabiúnas hub will receive gas from the Pão de Açúcar FPSO, in the Campos Basin, and many jobs will be created in the city
The BM-C-33 oil block in Pão de Açúcar, in the Campos Basin pre-salt layer, will gain an unprecedented natural gas treatment system installed on the topside of the production platform itself. The measure came to deal with the large natural gas production potential of the field. The asset is operated by oil company Equinor Brasil (35%). It is worth remembering that the platform vessel will be connected by the Norwegian company to the Cabiúnas Terminal, in Macaé, and many jobs will be generated in the region.
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“This solution, of processing natural gas on top of the platform, is unprecedented and innovative from a technological point of view. And its application was very important to give economic robustness to our project”, explained Verônica Coelho, president of Equinor Brasil.
The expectation is that the natural gas from the field will be available to the market between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027.
The president of Repsol Sinopec Brasil, Mariano Ferrari, reinforced that the objective is to develop the great potential of national gas supply. “It is one more of a series of innovations that we are applying in this development, which seeks to bring gas produced in Brazil to the country's market,” he said.
Equinor and RSB enter into an agreement to jointly market natural gas from BM-C-33.
The Brazilian oil company Petrobras is Equinor's partner in the project (30%), along with Repsol Sinopec Brasil (RSB), which holds a 35% stake. Last year, Equinor and RSB entered into an agreement to jointly market gas from BM-C-33.
RSB was responsible for the exploration campaign on the BM-C-33, which confirmed the discoveries of Pão de Açúcar, Gávea and Seat. After changes in the consortium, Equinor took over the operation.
The time between the discovery, made between 2010 and 2012, and the entry into operation is a reflection of the technical and economic complexity of this type of project.
“On the next discovery, we can no longer take this long, we will have to speed up. Therefore, I am sure that the innovation we are applying now will be useful to make other developments more accessible, sustainable and efficient”, says Mariano.
Macaé in Equinor's sights: the Cabiúnas hub will receive pre-salt gas from the Campos Basin, generating direct and indirect jobs in the city
Good news, many job vacancies are coming in Macaé! Equinor and license partners Repsol Sinopec Brasil and Petrobras have approved the development concept for BM-C-33, a gas/condensate field located in the pre-salt of the Campos Basin in Brazil.
Equinor will install an FPSO with capacity to produce 16 million m3/day in the Pão de Açúcar discovery project, in the area of exploratory block BM-C-33, in the pre-salt of the Campos Basin. The Norwegian has already estimated that the first gas could be produced, depending on other factors, from 2026.
The gas outflow solution is based on an offshore gas pipeline, from the FPSO, to a new dedicated gas receiving facility, onshore, inside the terminal TECAB by Petrobras, in Cabiúnas – Macaé, before connecting to the national gas transport network.
“The BM-C-33 contains substantial volumes of gas. Completion of the ongoing liberalization of the natural gas market in Brazil, according to the current plan, is critical for the further development of the project. BM-C-33 is an asset that has the potential to generate value for society, both through the creation of direct and indirect jobs, and the consequent cascading effect, and through the additional supply of gas that can contribute to industrial growth, as has already happened in other countries”, says Veronica Coelho, president of Equinor in Brazil.
Currently, all offshore routes are owned by Petrobras and partners in the fields. Routes 1, 2 and 3 (under construction) connect several pre-salt and post-salt fields to the UPGNs of Caraguatatuba (SP), Cabiúnas (RJ) and Itaboraí (RJ), respectively.
