Equinor taps IKM Ocean Design for pipeline study in Brazil

Norwegian oil major Equinor has awarded an ultra-deepwater pipeline study in Brazil to subsea engineering provider IKM Ocean Design.

IKM said on Tuesday that the scope had included a pipeline concept study for gas export from the BM-C-33 field to the coast of the Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil.

According to the company, this work will be a continuation of the IKM Ocean Design commitment to support Equinor’s major projects with innovative and cost-effective solutions, which has been demonstrated during the execution of the Johan Sverdrup, Johan Castberg, and Troll Phase 3 as well as other projects.

As for the BM-C-33 block, it was acquired in the bidding round held in 2005, and Equinor took over the operatorship in 2015. It is a complex carbonate reservoir, located in the southwest portion of the Campos Basin, some 200 kilometers off the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro and in depths between 2,500 and 2,900 meters.

Equinor claims that it is a strategically important gas discovery for Brazil and dubs it as one of the most important projects in its international portfolio.

It is composed of three different discoveries – Pão de Açúcar, Gávea, and Seat. So far, seven wells have been drilled – three on Pão de Açúcar, and two each on Seat and Gávea. All appraisal activities ended in 2016 and the results indicate a total potential of 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The project is currently in an early feasibility phase where Equinor is maturing the understanding of the reservoir, studying development concepts, and working on the gas commercialization options.

According to WoodMac, the development concept is still far from a decision with the most likely development concept being an FPSO.

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