Caratinga

Caratinga Oil Field Profile

Location and Geology

• The Caratinga oil field is located in the Campos Basin, which is situated on the continental shelf off the southeastern coast of Brazil. This basin is between Victoria in Espirito Santo state and Arrial do Cabo in Rio de Janeiro state and is the richest oil-bearing basin in Brazil, accounting for about 70% of the country's oil and gas supply.

Discovery and Production

• The Caratinga field was discovered in February 1994 at water depths ranging from 2,850 to 4,455 feet (850 to 1,350 meters).
• Production began with a pilot project in 1997, using the P-34 FPSO. This initial phase produced 45,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) and 400,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day.

Operator and Partners

• The field is operated by Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil company. The development involves partnerships with various international companies, including Halliburton, which undertook significant development work through its Brown & Root Energy Services and Halliburton Energy Services business units.

Infrastructure and Facilities

• The field utilizes a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) unit, specifically the Caratinga P-48 FPSO. This FPSO has a daily production capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil and 6 million cubic meters of gas, along with a storage capacity of 2 million barrels of oil.
• The project includes the drilling of multiple wells; the Caratinga field has a total of 20 wells, comprising 12 production wells and 8 injection wells.

Financing

• The development of the Barracuda and Caratinga fields was supported by a significant financing package. A novel financing scheme involved Barracuda Caratinga Leasing Co. BV (BCLC), a special-purpose company established by Japanese companies Itochu Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp., which secured funding from a consortium of international lenders. This financing was the largest arranged for Petrobras's offshore development program and the largest for an offshore field development in the Americas at the time, totaling $2.5 billion for the Barracuda and Caratinga fields.

Contractors and EPC Contracts

• Key contractors include Keppel, which was awarded the FPSO conversion contract, and FMC Technologies, which handled the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for subsea trees and connections. Halliburton's units were also involved in the bulk of the development work.

Development Scope

• The development project includes the drilling of 51 wells, fabrication and installation of flowlines and risers, construction and installation of two FPSOs, and commissioning, start-up, and operations support for both the Barracuda and Caratinga fields. More than 40% of the FPSO work was performed in Brazil, including the hull conversion of one ship.

Economic Impact

• The Campos Basin, where the Caratinga field is located, is crucial for Brazil's oil and gas supply. The production from this field, along with others in the basin, helps in meeting Brazil's increasing oil and gas demand and reduces the reliance on oil imports.

In summary, the Caratinga oil field is a significant deepwater oil and gas project in the Campos Basin, operated by Petrobras with substantial international collaboration and financing. It plays a critical role in Brazil's energy sector and contributes to the country's oil and gas production.