Hat trick for Brazil’s oil & gas firm with FPSO start-up clearance, production restart at another field and portfolio expansion

Brazilian oil and gas player Brava Energia, former 3R Petroleum before the merger with Enauta, is having a busy holiday season, as green light comes in for the firm to put a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel into operation mode, production resumes at another asset, and the acquisition of interests in multiple oil fields off the coast of Brazil wraps up just before New Year.

The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) gave its blessing on December 30, 2024, for the FPSO Atlanta to be brought online. As a result, Brava Energia began mobilization to start production in the coming days and complete all activities related to replacing the FPSO Petrojarl I, which worked at the Atlanta field in block BS-4 in the Santos Basin since 2018, with the FPSO Atlanta, bought for Atlanta’s Full Development System (FDS) in 2022.

The unit will initially be connected to six wells, but this is expected to increase to ten in 2029. Chartered and operated by Malaysia’s Yinson Production, the FPSO Atlanta can store 1.6 million barrels of oil (boe) and process 50,000 boe and 140,000 barrels of water per day. The vessel is expected to work at the Brazilian field for 15 years, but Brava Energia can also extend its stay further thanks to a five-year optional period.

The firm stopped production at the Papa-Terra oil field in the Campos basin off the coast of Brazil a few months ago. Since then, ANP authorized an increase in the number of people on board the floating units, including FPSO and the tension leg wellhead platform (TLWP), and granted authorization for the operation of the rig installed on the TLWP in October 2024.

The workover for pump replacement on well PPT-051 has resumed with the rig’s approval, following Constellation’s agreement to sublet the Alpha Star rig for 30 days during the ongoing contract with Brava Energia. Following the authorization of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels to restart production at the Papa-Terra field, the Brazilian player recently confirmed the resumption of production.

The company claims that significant progress was made in the maintenance and integrity recovery campaign of the production units in Papa-Terra during the production shutdown, allowing planning for better use of the reservoir with the future expansion of its production.

Regarding the Brazilian company’s Parque das Conchas acquisition, enabled by an agreement to get a 23% stake in the asset held by QatarEnergy, the process concluded after the firm met all precedent conditions and got ANP’s approval. Thanks to this, the firm has enriched its portfolio with the addition of the Abalone, Ostra, and Argonauta oil fields, which form the Parque das Conchas in the Campos Basin.

The acquisition value, disregarding adjustments, is $150 million. Parque das Conchas is operated by Shell, which holds a 50% stake. ONGC is a partner in the asset with the remaining 27%. The concession contracts are valid until 2032, with the possibility of an extension.

Moreover, the average production was approximately 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the period between January and November 2024, with 6.2,000 boe/day corresponding to the stake acquired by Brava.

The oil produced at Parque das Conchas has similar characteristics to the other assets in the company’s offshore portfolio, which may represent possible logistical and commercial synergies.