Development of the Lula and Cernambi fields
The development plan for the Lula and Cernambi fields, delivered simultaneously with the Declaration of Commerciality, includes the installation of nine FPSO (floating production storage and offloading), of which seven will be installed in the Lula area and two in the Cernambi area.
The first permanent FPSO, Cidade de Angra dos Reis, with a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day, is already operational in the Pilot project of Lula field gas injection well Lula field. An additional FPSO, with a production capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, is planned for the Northeast area of the Lula field, with the start of operations scheduled for 2013. An additional FPSO with capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day should start operations in 2014 in the Cernambi field.
In addition, six FPSO hulls were hired for Block BM-S-11 for the Lula and Cernambi fields in November 2010, each one with a production capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day. Production is estimated to begin between 2015 and 2017.
The development plan includes the operation of the first three modules, of production under lease, similar to the FPSO Cidade Angra dos Reis. Taking into account the obtained outcome and the expectation of availability of the production platforms, the current development plan has a more aggressive profile than the base case initially planned. This means the peak of production is planned to occur in the 2019/2020 period, and the current deadline of development extends to 2037. Whenever possible, production systems, projects for wells, equipment, materials and services will be standardised, taking into account the requirement to incorporate high local content into the projects.
The development of the Lula/Cernambi area will be executed according to best practice, rigorously complying with regulations applicable to operational and environmental safety planning and taking its size into account.
The development will have the following steps:
• carrying out the evaluation plan of the discovery by interpreting seismic data, drilling the extension wells and performing extending well tests in locations where the future production units will be implemented;
• implementing pilot projects to foresee the production, test technologies at a field scale and assess processes for improving recovery, such as the injection of water in carbonates and alternating injections of water and gas;
• projection and installation of production units with the flexibility to accommodate changes to the behaviour of the reservoir throughout the life of the field, and with suffi cient robustness and capacity to operate for many years.
The production projects will aim at maximising the recovery of hydrocarbons and reducing emissions, particularly carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Pilot- project
In October 2010, the FPSO Cidade de Angra dos Reis, the first definitive system of production installed in the Tupi area, went into operation in the pre-salt of the Santos basin.
Nine wells are planned for the initial stage of the pilot project, which will be individually interconnected to FPSO Cidade de Angra dos Reis through lines and fl exible risers. At peak production, six wells producing oil, a gas injector well, a water injector well and a well capable of alternately injecting water and gas will be connected to the FPSO.
The oil produced is transported by ship to onshore terminals. Natural gas is treated, compressed and exported by a 217-kilometre gas pipeline to the Mexilhão platform, which operates in a gas field in shallow waters atthe same basin. This gas pipeline was completed during the year; the export of natural gas onshore is being tested via a 137-kilometres pipeline extension to a gas treatment facility. Here, gas will be treated before being distributed to the consumer market. Part of the natural gas will also be used to generate energy on board and, possibly, be reinjected into the reservoir, in the production process, to assess the efficiency of the recovery method through gas injection.
Depending on the performance of the reservoir, necessary measures will be taken to allow this first module of production to last in that location for a 27-year period. Following the outcome of the initial phase results and the technical and economic viability analysis, the interconnection FPSO Cidade de Angra dos Reis. of more wells to maintain the level of FPSO production will be considered from 2013 onwards. If developed, these wells will be part of the complementary development of Lula.
The pilot project will complement the technical data collected during the EWT with critical information on the reservoir and production, which are essential to conceive the future units that will operate in the pre-salt. Data obtained during the pilot project will lead to the definition of a more suitable strategy for the development of that area, namely streamlining the number of wells, their geometry, the type of stimulation and its location.
The project will allow the assessment of: oil recovery via underwater pipelines; the performance of the underwater systems of production collection, including risers; and the performance of the processing unit, mainly systems to separate and inject carbon dioxide. In addition, the pilot project will allow the evaluation of the performance of several methods of supplementary recovery – crucial to increase the recovery factor of reservoirs.