Libra

Libra Oil Field Profile

Location and Geology

• The Libra Oil Field is located in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, approximately 183-230 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
• The field is situated in the pre-salt area, with the reservoir lying at a water depth of about 3,500 meters below sea level and the seabed at a depth of roughly 2,000 meters.

Discovery and History

• The Libra Oil Field was discovered in 2010.
• In 2013, a production sharing agreement was signed, and drilling began in 2014.
• The first oil from the early production system was achieved in November 2017 using the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra.

Partners and Operator

• The field is operated by Petrobras, with a consortium that includes Shell (20%), Total (20%), CNOOC (10%), and CNPC (10%). Petrobras holds a 40% stake.
• Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) manages the production-sharing contract.

Reserves and Production

• The estimated recoverable oil reserves range between 7.9 and 15 billion barrels, with a best estimate of 7.9 billion barrels according to Gaffney, Cline & Associates.
• The field is expected to produce up to 1.4 million barrels of oil per day (mmbod) at peak production.
• The initial flow rate enables production of 25,000 barrels per day from each well.

Field Development

• The field development plan involves the use of multiple Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) units. Initially, the Pioneiro de Libra FPSO was deployed, which has a production capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil per day and a gas compression capacity of 4 million cubic meters per day.
• Future phases include the deployment of additional FPSOs, such as the Mero 1 and Mero 2 FPSOs. Mero 2, for example, will have a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day, water injection capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, and associated gas treatment of 12 million cubic meters per day.

Infrastructure and Contractors

• The Pioneiro de Libra FPSO was converted from the Navion Norvegia shuttle tanker by a joint venture between Odebrecht Oil & Gas and Teekay Offshore (OOGTK JV) at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore.
• Technip was contracted to supply high-end flexible pipes and to provide detailed engineering and procurement services for the FPSO topsides.
• SBM Offshore is involved in the Mero 2 project, designing and constructing the FPSO using their Fast4Ward program.

Production and Wells

• The field is planned to include nine FPSO units linked to 92 production wells and 92 injection wells.
• The initial production system started in November 2017, and subsequent phases, such as Mero 1 and Mero 2, are scheduled to come online in the following years, with Mero 1 starting up in 2021 and Mero 2 expected to be delivered in 2022.

Economic and Operational Aspects

• The field development is under a 35-year production sharing contract (PSC) managed by PPSA.
• The economic analysis includes significant capital expenditures, operating expenditures, and tax liabilities, with the project expected to have technical costs below $20 per barrel and a low breakeven point.

Future Outlook

• The full potential of the field is expected to be developed over several phases, with production anticipated to reach more than 600,000 barrels per day once all four production units are deployed.
• The consortium plans to leverage the excellent productivity of the field to develop a major oil project with favorable economic indicators.