The P-70 floating production, storage and offloading vessel is expected to arrive in Brazilian waters by early next year in preparation to begin operations for state-controlled operator Petrobras at the Atapu pre-salt field in the Santos basin.

Physical progress on the FPSO is now said to have surpassed 97% and the unit, which is being built at China’s Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC), is expected to set sail from Asia within the next few weeks.

“We expect to receive the P-70 either in late 2019 or early 2020,” said Petrobras production development and technology director Rudimar Lorenzatto.

The FPSO is one of six replica units originally ordered at Brazilian shipyards that later had their construction transferred to China.

According to Petrobras, 10 development wells have been drilled in Atapu ahead of first oil, of which two have been completed already.

In the Campos basin, meanwhile, Petrobras has discontinued operations at the P-37 FPSO and the P-09 platform in the Marlim and Corvina fields, respectively, resulting in impairments of 1.9 billion reais ($475 million) in the third quarter.

The impairment slightly affected the company’s results, but Petrobras still managed to report a strong net profit of 9.09 billion reais in the third quarter, up 36.8% from the same period a year ago, reflecting the increase in oil and gas production and capital gains from the sale of a stake in distribution subsidiary BR Distribuidora.

Despite the charge booked for the P-37 and P-09 units, Petrobras says it remains committed to investments in the Campos basin in a bid to keep production at sustainable levels.

“The Campos basin is currently producing about 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and the goal is to keep output at those levels in the long term,” said Petrobras exploration and production director Carlos Alberto Pereira de Oliveira.

In order to achieve that target, Petrobras is focusing on restoring output at its more profitable assets, while also acquiring fresh exploration blocks in new bid rounds.

Petrobras intends to invest $21 billion in the Campos basin by 2023 in projects that will include revitalisation of Marlim, a new FPSO in the Parque das Baleias complex and initiatives to improve the recovery factor in the Roncador field.

Weekly

P-70 FPSO expected to be in Brazil by early 2020