Petrobras Awaits 2 Oil Platforms for Major Fields Offshore Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones Newswires), Feb. 19, 2009 Brazilian state-run energy giant Petrobras (PBR) will take another step toward boosting crude oil output this week, when the company installs a new floating platform in the Campos Basin, the company said Thursday. Petrobras said that the FPSO "Cidade de Niteroi," a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, will be installed at the Jabuti field in coming days, a company official told Dow Jones Newswires. The platform is currently en route to the field, which lies about 120 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The "Cidade de Niteroi" has installed capacity to produce 100,000 barrels of crude oil and 3.5 million cubic meters of natural gas a day. Earlier this month, Petrobras Regional Exploration Manager for South and Southeast Brazil Jose Figueiredo said that production at Jabuti would start at end-February or early March. The platform will be the second installed by the company in 2009, with an additional three platforms expected to start up later this year. Petrobras expects crude oil output to reach 2.05 million barrels with the new platforms. In January, the P-51 platform started output at the Marlim Sul field. The P-51 has installed capacity to produce 180,000 barrels of oil and 6 million cubic meters of natural gas a day. Meanwhile, Petrobras also said that the expects the FPSO "Cidade de Sao Mateus" will arrive at port in Vitoria, the capital of Espirito Santo state, in coming days. The FPSO will be prepared for installation at the Camarupim field in the Espirito Santo Basin. Petrobras also plans to start its long-term test at the Tupi field in the Santos Basin, which is expected to start in April. The Tupi field was estimated to hold between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or BOE. The company has earmarked the FPSO "BW Peace" for the test, which will be the first oil produced from ultra-deepwater subsalt reservoirs in the Santos Basin.   Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.