Equinor Declares Commerciality for Campos Basin Assets in Brazil

Equinor ASA has submitted declarations of commerciality and development plans to the Brazilian National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) for two development areas in the BM-C-33 concession in Brazil’s Campos Basin.

Equinor, the operator of the asset, submitted the documents on behalf of the BM-C-33 consortium, which includes Repsol Sinopec Brasil and Petrobras SA, Equinor said in a recent news release. The total investment will be approximately $9 billion, Equinor said.

The concession, located approximately 124 miles (200 kilometers) from Rio de Janeiro in water depths up to 9,514 feet (2,900 meters), contains natural gas and oil/condensate recoverable volumes of above one billion barrels of oil equivalent, Equinor said. The company has Raia Manta and Raia Pintada as names for the areas, which are subject to approval by the regulator.

The plan for the asset comprises a floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) capable of processing gas and oil/condensate to meet sales specifications without further onshore processing. The FPSO will have a production capacity of 565 million cubic feet (16 million cubic meters of gas) per day (MMcfpd), with an expected average export of 494 MMcfpd (14 million cubic meters of gas per day), Equinor said.

The development of Raia Manta and Raia Pintada will be the first project in Brazil to treat gas offshore and be connected to the national grid without further onshore processing, Equinor said. The sales gas is planned to be exported through a 124.3-mile (200-kilometer) offshore gas pipeline from the FPSO to Cabiunas, in the city of Macae, Rio de Janeiro, with the liquids offloaded by shuttle tankers.

The lifetime average carbon dioxide intensity for the developments is estimated to be below six kilograms per barrel of oil equivalent, Equinor noted. The low carbon intensity will be enabled through the combined cycle gas turbines on the FPSO, which combines a gas turbine with a steam turbine to take advantage of the excess heat that would otherwise be lost.

“Raia Manta and Raia Pintada are a strategic fit for Equinor’s ambitions in a country where we have a solid history and an intention to further strengthen our presence”, Equinor Senior Vice-President for Project Development Trond Bokn said. “Together with our partners, we will employ additional expertise to ensure safe and efficient execution of these developments”.

“The developments have the potential to meet 15 percent of the total Brazilian gas demand when in production”, Equinor Country Manager for Brazil Veronica Coelho said. “This will contribute to Brazil’s energy security and economic development, enabling significant new job opportunities at the local level”. According to the release, the development and operation of the areas have the potential to generate up to 50,000 local jobs during its life cycle.

Earlier in the month, Equinor Energy AS said that estimated investment costs for its flagship Johan Castberg project north of the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea have risen by almost $1.2 billion (NOK 13 billion) since last year to $7.38 billion (NOK 80 billion).

The main reason for the increase in the investment estimate from last year is that the workload transferred to Stord has been more comprehensive and complex than estimated, Equinor said. However, the start of production is still slated for the fourth quarter, Equinor said in an earlier news release.

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