Speaking out: Almir Barbassa
Tupi test flows 'capped at 14,000 bpd'
Petrobras is unlikely to produce more than 14,000 barrels per day during extended well tests at the Tupi field, in the Santos basin's pre-salt fairway, the Brazilian giant's chief financial officer Almir Guilherme Barbassa said.
The tests, which will run for 15 months, are being carried out from the floating storage, production and offloading vessel Cidade de Sao Vicente.
"While the platform capacity is 30,000 bpd, we do not expect to produce more than 14,000 bpd due to limits on the amount of gas we may flare," BNamericas quoted Barbassa as saying in a webcast.
Petrobras aims to gather "important" information from the testing, such as the long-term behavior of the producing reservoir and information on fluid flows and drainage, subsea outflow and the geometry of final wells, he added.
The project poses many challenges but so far has met expectations, Barbassa said, adding: "We continue to remain as optimistic as ever about the economic viability of this reservoir."
Challenges at Tupi include operating christmas trees at record water depths and reinjecting carbon dioxide associated with fluids produced in the reservoir. Completing wells in the high-pressure environment and acquiring high-resolution seismic will also be difficult.