Petrobras changes Lula oilfield name following lawsuit

Brazilian oil major Petrobras has changed the name of one of its largest offshore oil fields – Lula – back to its original name – Tupi.

To put this renaming into context, Petrobras renamed the field from Tupi to Lula in 2010. However, a Brazilian federal court recently ordered the company to change the name.

The word Lula, innocently enough, means ‘squid’ in Portuguese but is also the nickname of former Brazil president Luiz Inacio da Silva.

Lula was put behind bars on April 2018 after being sentenced to 12 years in prison for alleged corruption. He was then released in October 2019 on a procedural ruling.

Earlier this week, Petrobras stated that the change of the name of the oil field back to Tupi was approved by Brazilian oil and gas regulator ANP.

“The approval is aimed at complying with the ruling of July 7, 2020, in a civil lawsuit, which ordered the annulment of the designation of the Tupi area as Lula field, which occurred in 2010“, Petrobras said.

Other areas that make up the field were also renamed to Sul de Tupi, an onerous assignment contract and Tupi Leste, a non-contracted area that belongs to the federal government represented by Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A.

The Tupi field is located mostly in the BM-S-11 concession, 230 kilometres off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, and is operated by Petrobras with a 65 per cent stake, in partnership with Shell and Petrogal wich hold 25 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

Tupi began production in 2010, using the Cidade de Angra dos Reis FPSO, and is currently the largest oil and gas producing field in the country.

Since the first FPSO was installed another seven were installed on subfields – Cidade de Paraty, Cidade de Mangaratiba, Cidade de Itaguai, Cidade de Marica, Cidade de Saquarema, P-66, and the P-69. The ninth FPSO set for the field is still under construction.