Petrobras to shed 50 pct stake in Marlim cluster

Brazilian oil major Petrobras has launched an opportunity disclosure stage (teaser) for the sale of its 50 per cent in offshore oil fields known as the Marlim Cluster in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil.

Petrobras said it was looking to sell stakes in the deepwater concessions of Marlim, Voador, Marlim Leste, and Marlim Sul fields. The company, which currently owns a 100 per cent stake in the fields, will remain the operator after the sale.

The Marlim and Voador fields occupy an area of 339.3 square kilometres and are located in deep waters, with water depth ranging from 400 to 1,050 metres, some 150 kilometres from the northern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The two fields share the production infrastructure and, between January and October 2020, produced an average of 68,900 barrels of oil per day and 934,000 cbm of gas per day.

The upcoming revitalization project at Marlim and Vorador involves the replacement of all existing platforms with two new FPSOs. First oil from the revitalization is estimated for 2023, with a plateau expected by 2025.

Marlim Leste is located east of the Marlim field, some 107 kilometres from Cabo de São Tomé in water depths ranging from 780 to 2,000 metres. From January to October 2020, Marlim Leste produced an average of 38,500 barrels of oil per day and 615,000 cbm of gas per day.

Marlim Sul stands some 90 kilometres from the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro, located in deep and ultra-deep waters with water depths ranging from 800 to 2,500 metres. The field produced on average, from January to October 2020, around 109,600 barrels of oil per day and 2,062,000 cbm of gas per day.

Active field infrastructure includes four platforms with a combined oil processing capacity of over 400 million bbl per day. Of the four platforms, three are semi-submersible – the P-40, P-51, and P-56 – and one is an FSO – the P-38.