22 FPSOs in Brazil’s pre-salt enable Petrobras to break C02 reinjection record

Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petrobras has tucked a new carbon dioxide (CO2) reinjection milestone in the Santos Basin pre-salt layer under its belt, thanks to 22 floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels capturing and reinjecting CO2 off the coast of Brazil. The company pursues the marriage of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) with enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to bring low-carbon barrels to market.

According to the Brazilian giant, 14.2 million tons of CO2 were reinjected into the Santos Basin pre-salt reservoirs last year, surpassing 13 million tons of CO2 from 2023. Aside from being a pioneer in ultra-deep waters, Petrobras claims that its program is the largest in operation globally, considering the amount of CO2 reinjected annually.

Based on the latest report by the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI), the annual injection capacity of CCUS projects in operation worldwide reached 51 million tons of CO2 in 2024. The results of the injection into pre-salt reservoirs correspond to more than a quarter (28%) of the global capacity reported for 2024.

Renata Baruzzi, Petrobras’ Director of Engineering, Technology and Innovation, commented: “The strategy, which combines CCUS with enhanced oil recovery (EOR), was crucial for Petrobras to enable oil production with lower emissions per barrel produced (the global average is 70% higher than the current pre-salt average).”

Petrobras claims that pioneering technologies contributed to a cumulative injection volume of 67.9 million tons of CO2 between 2008 and 2024. The firm claims 22 FPSOs operating in the Santos Basin pre-salt, which are equipped with systems for capturing and reinjecting CO2, enabled the application of this technology in the ultra-deepwater environment, as “a pioneer in the world,” reducing CO2 emissions and optimizing oil recovery (CCUS-EOR).

Maurício Tolmasquim, Director of Energy Transition and Sustainability, commented: “With the entry into operation of new production units, the prospect is to reach the mark, in accumulated volume, of 80 million tons of CO2 reinjected by the end of 2025.”

Petrobras’ five-year plan spotlights its focus on replacing reserves, increasing hydrocarbon production with a lower carbon footprint, and expanding the supply of more sustainable and higher-quality products in its portfolio.

Recently, SBM Offshore was tasked with a study covering the design and commercial assessment of multiple carbon capture models for deployment on future FPSOs working on Petrobras’ fields.

This encapsulates various turbine types and machinery setup, gas flow rates and gas turbine power installed, and CO2 concentrations and gas composition.