Deepwater project is Chevron's largest investment in Brazil to date
After almost a year up in the air, Chevron Corp.’s Brazilian subsidiary has given the green light to proceed with the development of the Papa Terra project offshore Brazil. The project will be the company's second deepwater development offshore Brazil, and its largest investment the country.
"This decision confirms our commitment to developing new opportunities in an important basin and adds to our strong queue of major capital projects," said George Kirkland, Chevron's vice chairman.
Situated 70 miles (110 kilometers) offshore in water depths of approximately 3,900 feet (1,190 meters), Papa Terra is a heavy oil subsea development located within Block BC-20 of the southern Campos basin. The project will feature the first tension leg well platform in Brazil which will be connected to a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel. The completed facility will be capable of producing up to 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
First production from the Papa Terra project is expected in 2013.
"When completed, the Papa Terra project will represent Chevron's largest investment in Brazil to date and is expected to grow the company's production capacity in the country which was established with the 2009 start-up of the Frade project," said Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company.
Chevron holds a 37.5% interest in the Petrobras-operated Papa Terra project, which they estimate will cost $5.2 billion. The project is estimated to recover 380 million barrels of oil.
In January 2009, the two companies halted production platform construction (P-61 and P-63) talks Petrobras due to unfavorable market conditions.
This past October, the Petrobras/Chevron joint venture signed a letter of intent with the consortium of BW Offshore and the Brazilian industrial group QUIP for the FPSO P-63 for the Papa Terra field.
BW Offshore intends to use the ULCC BW Nisa for the project.
