TotalEnergies extends helicopter firm’s gig at field offshore Brazil

French-headquartered energy giant TotalEnergies has renewed the contract with Brazil-based Omni Táxi Aéreo, an affiliate of Latin America’s provider of air mobility and delivery solutions Omni Helicopters International Group, to operate its field in the Santos Basin off the coast of Brazil.

The contract relating to the Lapa field has been prolonged by an additional five years. The Brazilian player says the extension is a result of a lasting partnership built over six years of strategic collaboration.

“We thank TotalEnergies for their renewed trust and we reaffirm our commitment to offering excellent service, prioritizing safety, efficiency and the best experience for our passengers and partners,” said Roberto Coimbra, Omni Táxi Aéreo´s CEO.

During the new contract period, operations will be based at Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarepaguá airport, with the support of a fleet of large, super-medium, and medium-sized aircraft, selected to meet TotalEnergies’ operational demands.

Discovered in 2007, the Lapa field is situated in the BM-S-9 block, which was split into two sub-blocks following the discovery of the Sapinhoá field. The field’s full commercial production started in late 2016 through the 100,000 b/d floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit Cidade de Caraguatatuba MV27. The vessel is connected to three wells. 

Last year, a final investment decision (FID) was reached for the Lapa South-West project, aiming to develop the southwest part of the reservoir to optimize production. With startup scheduled in 2025, the development is set to increase the production from the Lapa field by 25,000 barrels of oil per day.

The contract with TotalEnergies comes over a month after the Brazilian firm was the provider of air services of choice for another oil and gas major – Equinor. The energy giant’s Brazilian subsidiary handed out a new contract to Omni Táxi Aéreo to provide helicopter services for its offshore activities at the Bacalhau field, also in the Santos Basin.

“The inclusion of such prestigious client as Equinor, well known worldwide for their safety standards, is a recognition of our teams’ commitment to constantly improving procedures and increasing the safety and quality standards of our services,” noted Décio Galvão, Omni Táxi Aéreo’s commercial director.

Equinor is getting ready for the arrival of FPSO Bacalhau at the field, with first oil expected in 2025. Said to be one of the world’s largest FPSOs, the vessel was built by MODEC and named at Seatrium’s yard last month.