Petrobras sanctions second phase of Mero field development

Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras and its partners have taken the investment decision for the second phase of the Mero project (Libra block), located 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin in Brazil.

The Libra Consortium is operated by Petrobras (40%) as part of an international partnership including Total (20%), Shell (20%), CNOOC Limited (10%) and CNPC (10%). Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) manages the Libra Production Sharing Contract.

Total said on Tuesday that the investment decision follows the production start-up on the field in November 2017 (Early Production System) and the launch of the first phase of the project (Mero 1) approximately a month later.

The Mero 2 FPSO will have a liquid treatment capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and is expected to start up by 2022, said Total.

“The decision to launch Mero 2 comes as a new milestone in this large-scale project that will develop the giant oil resources of the Mero field, estimated at 3 to 4 billion barrels,” stated Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production of Total.

“The Libra Consortium can leverage the excellent productivity of the field to develop a major oil project with technical costs below 20 dollars per barrel and low breakeven. The Mero project will contribute to the growth of the Group’s production from 2020 onwards. Once the full potential of the field is developed, production should reach more than 600,000 barrels per day.”

The Pioneiro de Libra FPSO, which has a capacity of 50,000 bopd and came on stream in 2017, is producing as expected while providing valuable information on the field, reservoir and productivity of the wells.

The Mero 1 project, currently under development, is progressing as per plan with a start-up scheduled in 2021.

Following the launch of Mero 2, the project is expected to add two further FPSOs of the same capacity, subject to approval by the partners. All four producing units will be deployed in the Northwestern part of the Libra block (Mero field), as the Central and South-East panels are under exploration until 2020.

Earlier on Tuesday, Offshore Energy Today reported that Petrobras had signed a letter of intent with SBM Offshore for a 22.5-year lease and operation of the FPSO Mero 2, to be deployed at the Mero field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil. SBM Offshore will design and construct the FPSO Mero 2 using its standardized hull Fast4Ward program

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