Total Begins Third Phase of Mero Offshore Oil and Gas Field Located in the Pre-Salt Layer of the Santos Basin

Total’s Goal Is to Achieve Production of 150,000 Barrels of Oil per Day in Brazil, Through Operations at the Mero Field, Offshore in the Santos Basin

Total and its partners have made the investment decision for the third phase of the Mero project (block Libra), located in the Libra offshore oil block, 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin. Last Friday (14), Petrobras signed a letter of intent with MISC of Malaysia for the chartering of FPSO for the Mero field.

See Also Other News

• Vale Mining Receives Approval for Expansion of Serra Sul – S11D Iron Ore Mine in Pará
• Eneva Confirms New Natural Gas Discovery in Onshore Block in the Parnaíba Basin, Maranhão State
• Petrobras Puts Four Thermoelectric Power Plants (UTEs) for Sale in Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul

The project will include the FPSO Mero 3, which will have a processing capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and is expected to start operations in 2024. It follows the investment decisions for the FPSOs Mero 1 (expected startup in 2021) and Mero 2 (expected startup in 2023), both of which have the same fluid processing capacity.

“The decision to launch Mero 3 marks a new milestone in the large-scale development of the vast oil resources of the Mero field – estimated at 3 to 4 billion barrels. It aligns with Total’s growth strategy in the Brazilian offshore, based on giant projects that enable production at competitive costs, resilient to oil price volatility,” said Arnaud Breuillac, President of Exploration and Production at Total.

Recomendado para você

Oil and Gas

Major Oil, Gas, and Energy Event Will Take Place in Brazil: Macaé Energy Will Gather Petrobras, Equinor, Prio, Among Other Suppliers and Energy Executives for Business, Networking, and Employment Opportunities

The Technical Agenda and the Fair in the City of Macaé Should Boost Discussions on Investments, Energy Transition, and Development of the Oil, Gas, and Energy Chain in the National...

Paulo Nogueira

1

“The Mero project will contribute to the Group’s production from 2020 onwards and we aim for a production of 150,000 barrels per day in Brazil by 2025,” added the executive.

The Mero field has been in pre-production since 2017 with the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra of 50,000 barrels per day. The Libra Consortium is operated by Petrobras (40%) as part of an international partnership that includes Total (20%), Shell Brazil (20%), CNOOC Limited (10%), and CNPC (10%). Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) manages the Production Sharing Contract for Libra.

Total in Brazil

Total has been present in Brazil for over 40 years and has more than 3,000 employees in the country. The Group operates in all segments: exploration and production, gas, renewable energies, lubricants, chemicals, and distribution.

Total’s Exploration and Production portfolio currently includes 24 blocks, with 10 operated. In 2019, the Group’s production in the country averaged 16,000 barrels of oil per day. In October 2019, a consortium led by Total won Block C-M-541, located in the Campos Basin, in the 16th Bidding Round of the National Agency of Petroleum (ANP).

In 2017, Total and Petrobras formed a Strategic Alliance encompassing exploration and production as well as gas, renewable energies, and power activities. Through the Alliance, the two groups are implementing R&D projects on topics such as artificial intelligence for efficiency gains, with direct applications in Brazil. Total entered the fuel distribution market in Brazil with the acquisition in December 2018 of the distribution activities of the Zema Group. Total thus has a network of 280 service stations, along with several depots for petroleum products and ethanol.