Equinor has submitted the Declarations of Commerciality and Plans of Development for two areas located in the BM-C-33 concession area of Brazil.
The company filed the plans to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) on behalf of the BM-C-33 consortium. Besides Equinor (35%, operator), the other partners of the consortium are Repsol Sinopec Brasil (35%) and Petrobras (30%).
The development will entail an investment of around $9bn.
The concession is situated in the pre-salt of the Campos Basin in water depths of up to 2,900m. The location is around 200km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
In the declaration, the partners suggested the names for the two areas as Raia Manta and Raia Pintada.
The project is expected to contain more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in recoverable oil and gas volumes.
The selected development concept includes one floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) that will be capable of processing gas and oil/condensate to sales specifications, eliminating the need for further onshore processing.
The FPSO vessel will have a production capacity of 16 million cubic metres of gas per day, and is expected to export around 14 million cubic meters of gas per day.
The processed gas will be transported via a 200km offshore gas pipeline from the FPSO to Cabiúnas, in the city of Macaé, while the liquids are planned to be exported using shuttle tankers.
The development and operations of the two areas will generate up to 50,000 local jobs during its full life cycle throughout the supply chain.
It is expected to start operations in 2028.
Equinor Country Manager in Brazil Veronica Coelho said: “The developments have the potential to meet 15% of the total Brazilian gas demand when in production. This will contribute to Brazil’s energy security and economic development, enabling significant new job opportunities at local level.”
The suggested names of the two areas and development plans are subject to approval by the regulator.
In May 2023, Equinor and its partners awarded two contracts related to the BM-C-33 gas and condensate project to TechnipFMC and MODEC.
