Baleia Franca

Location

The Baleia Franca field is situated in block BC-60 in the northern part of the Campos Basin, at water depths ranging from 1,260 meters to 1,426 meters.

Discovery and Development

The Baleia Franca field was discovered in 2008. It is part of the larger Parque das Baleias complex, which includes several other fields such as Jubarte, Baleia Azul, Baleia Anã, Cachalote, Caxaréu, and Pirambú.

Ownership and Operation

The Baleia Franca field is owned and operated by Petrobras, the state-controlled oil company of Brazil. Petrobras has a 100% stake in the field.

Geology and Reserves

The field contains both pre-salt and post-salt reserves, with the reservoirs located under a layer of up to 700 meters of salt. The estimated recoverable reserves for the entire Parque das Baleias complex, which includes the Baleia Franca field, are between 1.5 billion and 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

Production

The Baleia Franca field is connected to one of the four floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units operating in the Parque das Baleias complex. Specifically, it is linked to the FPSO P-58, which also receives oil from other fields such as Baleia Azul, Jubarte, Cachalote, and Baleia Anã. The FPSO P-58 commenced operation in March 2014 and is capable of processing oil from 19 satellite wells.

Production Rates

As of the first quarter of 2020, the aggregate production rate from the Parque das Baleias complex, which includes the Baleia Franca field, was approximately 222,000 barrels of oil and six million cubic meters (mcm) of gas per day. About 71% of the total output came from the pre-salt reservoirs.

New Jubarte Field Development

In April 2020, the Agencia Nacional do Petroleo (ANP) and Petrobras signed an agreement to unify several fields, including parts of the Baleia Franca field, into the New Jubarte field. This development includes an extension of the production phase by an additional 27 years until 2056 and plans for a new FPSO capable of processing 100,000 barrels of oil and 5 mcm of gas per day.

Infrastructure

The production from the Baleia Franca field is managed through a network of producing and injector wells connected to the FPSO units. The Parque das Baleias complex currently operates with four FPSOs (Cidade de Anchieta, Capixaba, P-57, and P-58) connected to a total of 44 producing wells and 21 injector wells.

In summary, the Baleia Franca oil and gas field is a crucial part of Petrobras's operations in the Parque das Baleias complex, contributing significantly to Brazil's offshore oil and gas production.