Brazil’s oil company Petrobras has announced the start-up of the early production system in Sépia, the former Nordeste de Tupi area, in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.
The operation was handled by the floating platform FPSO Cidade de São Vicente, which will produce around 20,000 barrels of oil per day during the test period.
Installed in waters with a depth of approximately 2,200 meters, this platform was connected to the 1-RJS-691 well and will remain in the location for 180 days.
This is the fourth early production system installed in the Onerous Assignment area of the Santos Basin. The oil produced is of good quality (26º API) and will be transported by shuttle tankers, Petrobras said.
According to the company, the purpose of the Sépia early production system is to collect technical information on the behavior of the reservoirs and outflow of the oil via the underwater pipes, among other data. This information will provide support for the development of the definitive production system, scheduled to begin operations in the area in 2020.
Located around 185 kilometers from the Rio de Janeiro coastline, the Sépia field’s declaration of commerciality was announced by Petrobras in September 2014.