Oil uplift coming up next on Brazilian field’s horizon

Oslo Stock Exchange-listed oil and gas E&P company BW Energy has taken a final investment decision (FID) for a project that aims to up the oil production ante at its field in the Espírito Santo Basin off the coast of Brazil.

Shortly after getting its hands on the extension of the Golfinho license to 2042, BW Energy has now disclosed the FID for the Golfinho Boost project to increase uptime, reduce operating expenses, and add approximately 3,000 barrels per day of incremental oil production from 2027 at the Golfinho field offshore Brazil. The total investment budget is $107 million. 

The company brought the Golfinho and Camarupim clusters into its fold in August 2023, taking over the operator helm as the sole owner of the Golfinho license in the Espírito Santo Basin within water depths between 1,300 and 2,200 meters. The FPSO Cidade de Vitória, which the firm owns and operates since November 2023, has been working at the Golfinho asset since 2007. 

Carl K. Arnet, CEO of BW Energy, commented: “BW Energy continues to strengthen its position in Brazil through targeted measures on the Golfinho field to increase production, uptime and operational independence. The planned low-risk enhancements to field assets and operations offer very attractive returns and are expected to help unlock material long-term value creation for the company and its stakeholders.”

BW Energy’s latest project at the Brazilian field entails multiple measures to ramp up production efficiency and increase recoverable reserves by approximately 12 million barrels, encompassing upgrades to the subsea boosting system by replacing gas lift with electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) at the seabed, reopening of shut-in wells, umbilicals replacement, improved field logistics and FPSO capacity enhancements.

With 1.6 million barrels of storage capacity, the FPSO Cidade de Vitoria can produce over 100,000 barrels of oil a day and comes with additional capacity for gas production and compression. The Golfinho cluster consists of the Golfinho oil field, the Canapu non-associated gas field, and the exploration block BM-ES-23, holding the Brigadeiro gas and condensate discovery.

The Golfinho field, which has five currently producing subsea wells in Campanian- and Maastrichtian-aged reservoirs tied to the FPSO Cidade de Vitória, is located in water depths between 800 and 1,700 meters. Crude oil is offloaded to shuttle tankers, and gas can be transported to or from the shore through a pipeline routed to the Cacimbas gas treatment unit.

The Golfinho field’s gross reserves are 42 million barrels of oil equivalent based on third-party estimates, predominately oil, of which 28.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) are developed and 13.7 million boe are undeveloped infill opportunities.

Aside from boosting production at its Brazilian asset, BW Energy is working on its portfolio in Africa, where it plans to drill the Kharas prospect within the Kudu license. The company also made an oil discovery off the coast of Gabon.