RIO DE JANEIRO—With more than four decades of activities and still considered one of the most important areas for the Brazilian oil and gas operations, the Campos Basin is changing its role within the country’s energy industry.

The basin accounts for roughly 80% of Brazil’s output, but its fields are declining as Santos Basin activity picks up. However, the Campos Basin still offers opportunities, mainly for those who want to operate in mature fields, according to industry experts.

That was the sentiment conveyed June 25-June 27 at the Brasil Offshore 2019 conference, which organizers said attracted 50,000 people.

“The future of the Campos Basin relies on its mature fields,” where infrastructure is in place, Claudio Makarovsky, head of oil and gas for Siemens, said during the opening ceremony. “So, what needs to be done—new seismic, new drilling activities, construction of new wells, redirection of risers, repositioning of FPSOs.”

He noted that Petrobras decided to shift its focus to presalt, leaving behind the Campos Basin’s declining shallow-water fields.

Petrobras plans to sale mature fields. The Brazilian operator has already informed Brazil’s oil and gas regulator ANP that it intends to sell 70% of 250 mature fields, including some fields in the Campos Basin. The move may spur investment in the area, according to Makarovsky.

Petrobras announced this week its intent to sell the Enchova and Pampo fields. Earlier this year, the company sold the Maromba Field to BW Offshore.

The expectation is that development of these fields, in the hands of other smaller companies, could create more demand for equipment and generate tax revenue.

Production from mature fields in the Campos Basin fell 40% between 2013 and 2018, according to ANP.

Marlim Field

The Marlim Field, one of Petrobras’ biggest assets in the Campos Basin, is among the fields with falling production. During the conference, Petrobras discussed the revitalization plan for the field. The plan involves removing seven FPSOs and installing two new units, which are expected to start by year-end 2019.

“Decommissioning services, which involve the disconnection and treatment of the units, might spur the demand for well services and move the SURF [subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines] segment,” Makarovsky said.

The peak production goal of the Marlim revitalization project is 100,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), which is less than the 133,000 bbl/d produced three years ago. Currently, the field produces roughly 80,000 boe/d.

Petrobras Senior Project Engineer Clarice Rabelo believes the oil and gas industry will benefit from exploration of the Marlim Field.

Revitalizing the field will allow the production system to be resized to the current capacity of the reservoirs, extending the useful life of the assets and increasing the total recovery of oil and natural gas, according to Rabelo.

Petrobras plans to invest more than US$20 billion in the Campos Basin between 2019 and 2023. The company is focusing on revitalization projects, increasing the recovery factor of producing fields and improving operational efficiency of the production units.

Natural Gas

For Makarovsky, the new design for natural gas policies in Brazil, which aims to break the monopoly of gas distribution by Petrobras, can also represent a good business opportunity for the industry in the Campos Basin.

Some companies are beginning to turn FPSOs into gas power generators and transfer that gas to thermals.

Such opportunities are expected for the Açu Port Complex in São João da Barra, near the Campos Basin.

“Açu Port has been consolidated as the main hub of the oil and gas industry in the country. We offer business possibility to, including the reception of these products, their transformation and distribution—as in the case of power generation, which allows the development of a chain that goes far beyond oil and gas,” Antonio Primo Ferreira, director of oil and gas for Açu Port’s operations, said during a presentation at the conference.

The Açu Gas Hub being developed is expected to have thermoelectric plants, regasification terminal (LNG), transmission lines and pipelines. By 2022, the company intends to invest US$2.2 billion in the construction of the terminal and two thermals, which will have a total capacity to generate 3GW of energy, making the hub the largest thermoelectric park in Latin America.

Development of the gas hub could attract new industries to the Açu Complex.

“The intention is to turn the Açu Complex into an important alternative for the flow of oil and natural gas, in the transformation of these into energy and higher value-added products,” according to Ferreira.

Ferreira also said Açu Petróleo, a joint venture between Prumo Logística and Oiltanking Açu Serviços, provides tanking and treatment services of crude oil. According to the executive, Açu Petróleo has performed more than 80 shipment operations, including via Very Large Crude Carriers that have the capacity to transport up to 2 million barrels of crude oil. Açu Petróleo’s clients include Royal Dutch Shell, Galp, Equinor and Petrobras.

The complex has also established itself as a service and equipment base for the subsea market. TechnipFMC has signed a contract with Dome, a Brazilian company that provides naval repair, construction, subsea and decommissioning services, and will install a spoolbase for the production of rigid lines in Açu.