Campos Basin Revitalization: From Small Subsea Tiebacks to Complete Redevelopment

Abstract

Abstract The Campos Basin has played a pivotal role in Brazil's oil and gas industry. With an area of approximately 100,000 square kilometers, the Campos Basin is located in Brazil between the vicinity of Vitória (Espírito Santo State) to Arraial do Cabo (Rio de Janeiro State) and is the main sedimentary area already explored on the Brazilian coast (Lucchesi & Gontijo, 1998; Batalha & Cunha, 2018). The Campos Basin has achieved significant milestones, including the first discoveries in shallow waters in the Garoupa field in 1974 and subsequent discoveries in deepwater in the Marlim and Albacora fields in 1984 and 1985. This paper purposes to delve into the history and challenges that the Campos Basin has faced and to explore the applied solutions and the results obtained in its redevelopment efforts. The development of shallow water and deep/ultra-deepwater fields highlights the challenges encountered in their production and the opportunities for extending production timelines. Depletion of reservoirs and declining production pose one of the critical challenges in the Campos Basin. As a result, complementary development is a required strategy to maximize the remaining resources and sustain the production levels. The redevelopment of concessions and production facilities poses challenges that require efficient and effective operations to be developed. Several challenges associated with the current Campos Basin infrastructure must be addressed, including the oil and gas drainage network, gas pipeline network, and digital communications network. These challenges affect production, safety, and operational efficiency, necessitating innovative solutions. Moreover, the paper will discuss the solutions that have been applied and the results obtained in the Campos Basin's renewal strategy. It includes the development of subsea tiebacks into existing facilities and planned subsea tiebacks into production hubs. These initiatives have contributed to optimizing production, extending field life, and enhancing overall operational efficiency. Furthermore, it will highlight the ongoing projects and the results that have been achieved in the revitalization of the Campos Basin. It includes the replacement of old platforms with newer, more efficient ones. It will also discuss the solutions and results achieved in the life extension of FPSOs and semisubmersibles, the pioneering solutions in deepwater operations, the advancements in digital communications networks, and the solutions for the gas pipeline network. In addition, the importance of exploration activities and the acquisition of reservoir data, the adoption of new methods and technologies to increase operational efficiency, and the solutions that have been implemented to meet environmental requirements, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), will be discussed, and how it impacts the Campos Basin redevelopment.