FPSO’s miles-long journey ends in Brazilian waters as it reaches Petrobras’ giant pre-salt field

Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petrobras has expanded its floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) fleet off the coast of Brazil with the arrival of a new unit, according to Yinson Production, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based energy infrastructure and technology company Yinson Holdings.

After securing a 22.5-year lease operation, and maintenance deal, worth up to $5.3 billion, with Petrobras for the FPSO Maria Quitéria in February 2022, Yinson Production held a grand naming ceremony at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Shanghai) Shipyard in China on April 3, 2024. The vessel left for Brazil on May 7, 2024.

Following a three-month voyage, the FPSO Maria Quitéria arrived on August 10 at the Jubarte field, in the Campos Basin’s pre-salt layer, off Espírito Santo’s coast. This field, together with Baleia Anã, Cachalote, Caxaréu, Pirambú, and Mangangá fields, forms the Parque das Baleias integrated project.

While announcing the end of the vessel’s voyage, Yinson Production highlighted: “This is another major milestone in the vessel’s journey and a step forward towards the next important milestone. Congratulations to the crew onboard for their dedication to a safe and successful transit.

“As the vessel prepares to begin its important mooring campaign, we wish the team continued success, encouraging them to stay safe, focused, driven, and committed to excellence in every aspect of their work.”

The FPSO Maria Quitéria was initially expected to come online in 2025 before Petrobras advanced the start-up timeline to put the vessel into operation in the last quarter of 2024 at the Jubarte field, which lies at a water depth of approximately 1,300 meters in the northern Campos Basin, around 80 kilometers off the coast of Anchieta, Espírito Santo, Brazil. 

Commenting on the vessel’s arrival at its final destination, Noel Denton, FPSO Maria Quitéria’s Project Manager, underlined: “Excellent work from the team from kick-off through to this next important milestone. Everyone involved in the project should be proud of their efforts throughout, and we look forward to a successful start-up after the installation campaign.”

With a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil and a processing capacity of 5 million cubic meters of gas, the FPSO Maria Quitéria has been equipped with decarbonization technologies such as a combined cycle power generation system and FGRU (closed flare).

Petrobras has big plans for Brazil, which entail the start-up of 14 FPSOs from 2024 to 2028 in line with its ‘Strategic Plan 2024-2028‘ showcasing the firm’s intention to spend $102 billion over the next five years, with $11.5 billion earmarked for projects propelling its decarbonization journey forward.

Recently, the Brazilian giant increased its capex projection for 2024 to reflect its anticipated expansion of operations in the exploration and production (E&P) segment. In addition, another FPSO is on its way to one of Petrobras’ fields in Brazilian waters.