U.S.-headquartered technology player SLB has secured a multi-well ultra-deepwater assignment off the coast of Brazil, which will enable the country’s state-owned energy giant Petrobras to scale up its oil and gas production and overall performance.
While disclosing its new agreement, SLB described it as “a major contract” secured following a competitive tender to provide services and technology for up to 35 ultra-deepwater wells, which are part of Petrobras’ second development of the Atapu and Sépia fields in the Santos Basin, targeting massive pockets of oil and gas beneath thick salt layers up to 2,000 meters below the ocean’s surface.
This assignment enables the U.S. player to deploy advanced electric completions technologies and digital solutions, said to deliver precise, real-time production intelligence and improved reservoir management, which will enable the Brazilian operator to optimally produce valuable and hard-to-access hydrocarbon resources.
Scheduled to begin in mid-2026, the completions work will feature advanced services and technology from SLB’s completions portfolio, such as its Electris high-flow-rate interval control valves, designed to boost production control and recovery from geologically complex, high-flow-rate wells.
Paul Sims , SLB’s President of Production Systems, commented: “This will help Petrobras drive greater reliability, system uptime and production performance in those fields — supporting Brazil’s energy security and economic growth ambitions.”
The multi-well assignment follows another major contract awarded to the SLB OneSubsea joint venture by Petrobras for the Atapu and Sépia fields in 2024, which includes standardized, pre-salt subsea production systems and related services.
Petrobras made the final investment decision (FID) for the second development phase of these fields at the end of May 2024. The Atapu field has been producing since 2020 through the FPSO P-70 , with a production capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
The second development phase, Atapu-2, will entail a new-built FPSO of 225,000 bopd capacity. Petrobras owns an interest of 65.7% in the Atapu field, in partnership with TotalEnergies (15%), Shell (16.7%), Petrogal (1.7%), and PPSA (0.9%).
The Sépia field has been producing since 2021 through the FPSO Carioca , with a production capacity of 180,000 bopd. The second development phase, Sépia-2, will also comprise a new-built FPSO of 225,000 bopd capacity.
Petrobras has an interest of 55.3% in the Sépia field, in partnership with TotalEnergies (16.9%), Petronas (12.7%), QatarEnergy (12.7%), and Petrogal (2.4%). These oil field projects enable the addition of two new FPSO vessels: P-84 (Atapu) and P-85 (Sepia), expected to start producing in 2029.
Petrobras is set on continuing its hydrocarbon growth story in Brazil and elsewhere, as emphasized in its strategic plan for 2024-28 .