Albacora

Albacora Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location

The Albacora Oil and Gas Field is located in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, specifically in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The field is situated approximately 120 km from Cabo de São Tomé, in water depths ranging from 1,000 to 2,150 meters.

Operator and Ownership

The field is operated by Petrobras, although it is worth noting that Petrobras has sold some of its interests in related fields. For the Albacora field itself, Petrobras is the sole operator and owner.

Discovery and Production

• The Albacora field was discovered in 1984.
• Production began in 1987.

Field Characteristics

• The Albacora field is one of the first giant deepwater fields in Brazil.
• It comprises 65 wells, two production units (the semisubmersible platform P-25 and the FPSO P-31), and seven diverless manifolds (six for oil production and one for water injection).

Production Units

• Semisubmersible Platform P-25: This platform has a process plant with a capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 115 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (mmcf/d). It is connected to 14 production wells directly and 16 wells through two diverless production manifolds.
• FPSO P-31: This FPSO has a process plant capacity of 200,000 bopd and 130 mmcf/d of gas. It processes oil from the P-25 platform and from 28 production wells connected to four diverless production manifolds.

Production Volumes

• The field has reached production levels of 150,000 bopd and 90 mmcf/d of natural gas.
• As of recent data, the cumulative production includes 920 million barrels of oil and 18,018 million cubic meters of gas by 2020.

Reserves

• The estimated reserves include:
  • Oil: 4,835.09 million barrels in place (as of 2017).
  • Gas: 111,335.02 million cubic meters in place (as of 2017).

Contractors and Technology

• FMC Technologies has been involved in the design and construction of the permanent internal mooring system for the FPSO, as well as the subsea trees, production manifolds, control modules, and vertical connection modules.

History

• The field was discovered in 1984 and started production in 1987.
• There was a temporary stoppage in 2007 due to riser problems.

Geology

The Albacora field is located in the deep waters of the Campos Basin, which is known for its complex geological structure. The field's development involved overcoming significant technical challenges due to the deepwater environment.

Albacora Leste Field (Related Field)

While the Albacora Leste field is a separate entity, it is often mentioned in the context of the Albacora field due to its proximity and similar operational characteristics.

• Location: Immediately to the east of the Albacora field in the Campos Basin.
• Operator: Currently operated by Petro Rio Jaguar Petróleo, with a 90% stake, and Repsol Sinopec Brasil holding the remaining 10%.
• Production: The field started operations in 2006 and is known for producing heavy oil. Recent production averages around 29,000 bopd and 591,500 cubic meters of gas per day through the FPSO P-50.
• Reserves and Production: The field has recovered about 49.03% of its total recoverable reserves, with peak production in 2007. Production is expected to continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2052.