Marlim

Marlim Oil Field Profile

Location and Geology

• The Marlim oil field is located in the northeastern part of the Campos Basin, approximately 110 kilometers offshore from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It operates in water depths ranging from 650 meters to 1,050 meters, and in some areas as deep as 1,312 to 5,905 feet.

Discovery and History

• The Marlim field was discovered in February 1985 by the well 1-RJS-219-A. The discovery revealed a 75-meter column of predominantly unconsolidated sandstone with high permeability and high-gravity oil (17°-21° API).

Reserves and Production

• The Marlim field is part of the larger Marlim turbidite fan complex, which covers an area of 381 square kilometers. The original oil in place (OOIP) for the entire complex is estimated at 14 billion barrels, with recoverable reserves of about 1.75 billion barrels for the Marlim field itself.
• The field produces around 390,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 252,000 barrels per day (bpd) of water, with approximately 705,000 barrels of water injected daily.

Development Phases

• Pilot Phase: The pilot phase involved the installation of the Petrobras XX semisubmersible production platform in 1,925 feet of water. This phase included eight wells tied into the prepilot to gather data for four years before full field development.
• First Development Phase: This phase started in 1994 and involved the installation of the Petrobras XVIII and XIX semisubmersible production platforms. It included 52 subsea completions and peaked at about 200,000 b/d of oil and 81 MMcfd of gas in 1996.
• Second Development Phase: Beginning in 1997 and ending in 2003, this phase involved the installation of five additional stationary production units (SPUs). It included 77 production wells, 14 water injectors, and 2 gas injection wells. Peak production reached 352,000 b/d of oil and 152 MMcfd of gas by 2003.

Infrastructure

• The field has over 80 kilometers of rigid pipelines and 400 kilometers of flexible lines. It includes multiple platforms such as P-18, P-19, P-26, and FPSOs like P-33 and P-37. The P-37 FPSO has a process capability of 150,000 bopd and is fed by four subsea manifolds, 20 production wells, and 15 subsea injection wells.
• The Marlim Sul field, part of the Marlim complex, uses platforms like P-51, P-56, and the Marlim Sul FPSO. The P-51 platform can produce 180,000 bopd and 7.2 million m³/day of gas, while the P-56 platform can process up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day of heavy oil.

Recent Developments

• In 2023, Petrobras initiated a redevelopment phase for the Marlim field, focusing on increasing the recovery factor with the startup of two new Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) units. This phase also includes exploring pre-salt upside and evaluating the Brava discovery for commercial production.

Economic and Financial Aspects

• The initial development of Marlim through 1996 was projected to cost about $1.84 billion, including the construction of the first two semisubmersible platforms at a cost of $500 million. The project was expected to generate a net income of about $3 billion with an annual internal rate of return of 53% and a payout period of 2 years and 5 months from the start of production.
• The total investment in the field over a 15-year period is estimated at $5 billion.

Production and Processing

• The field's production is supported by several platforms and FPSOs, each with significant processing capacities. For example, the Marlim Sul FPSO can process 100,000 bpd of crude oil and 2.3 million Sm³/d of gas compression. Produced gas is exported through Campos Basin pipelines.
• The field's infrastructure includes facilities for gas treatment, compression, and water injection. The FSO Cidade de Macae MV15, one of the largest FSO units in the world, receives and exports production from multiple platforms offshore Brazil.

Contractors and Partners

• Various contractors have been involved in the development of the Marlim field, including FMC Technologies for subsea separation systems, Stolt Offshore for oil export pipelines, and FELS Setal SA and Technip for detailed engineering and construction of platforms like P-51.