20 Years of Drilling and Completion Experience in Campos Basin: A Results Review

Abstract

Abstract Campos Basin has been producing since 1977, initially from a water depth of 120 m (394 ft), on the Enchova field, to today's record of 1027 m (3,370 ft), in Marlim South field. It will be presented how the profile of Campos Basin environment, considering oil accumulations and water depth, pushed the technology toward deeper and deeper waters. Drilling and completion main concepts, techniques and equipment used in Campos Basin all over these years, together with their performance, will be discussed, as well as their impact on different projects and the basin results. Milestones in the basin exploration and exploitation, along with surpassed difficulties will be presented, showing their importance for the province development. The paper will also show how the amount of experience gathered throughout these years pointed towards new trends in technology, which already starts to be tested and used in prototype and pilot projects all over the basin. This knowledge starts to prove useful not only in Campos Basin but also on many different offshore sites around the world. Introduction Located offshore Rio de Janeiro state, on the southeast region of Brazil, Campos Basin is, by far, the main petroleum province in Brazil. Its area covers 110 sq. km, ranging from 50 (164 ft) to 3,400 m (1 1,155 ft) water depth. Presently, twenty years after first commercial oil production in 1977, Campos Basin installations comprise 14 futed platforms and 14 floating production systems, distributed among 33 oil fields. This installations account for an average production of 600,000 BOPD (representing near 70 % of the domesticproduction) and 9.5 million daily cubic meters of gas. This production is handled and exported to shore via over 2,900 km of oil and gas flowlines. By December, 1996, Brazilian total reserves of oil and equivalent gas added up to 11 billion barrels. Of this total, 82 % is located offshore, 63 % in water depths greater than 400 m. Presently, these deep water fields already answer for near one quarter of domestic oil production. In the future, this share will increase until, by year 2005, reaching a level of 70 % of Brazilian production. Campos Basin Development Milestones History of Carnpos Basin can be divided in three different periods, each one with its own set of unique characteristics. 1) 1974 to 1982: "20.000 Leagues Under the Sea". By the year 1974, the northern region of Rio de Janeiro state, around the city of Campos, was a typical country site. Sugar cane agriculture, cattle raising and fishing were the main economical activities.