Equinor said on Sept. 21 it has submitted a $9-billion FPSO-based development plan for two pre-salt fields in its operated BM-C-33 concession offshore Brazil.

Equinor and its partners sanctioned the project in May, and some contracts have been let to MODEC for the FPSO and to TechnipFMC for subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines.

On Sept. 20, Equinor submitted to the Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (ANP) declarations of commerciality and plans of development for the deepwater fields, which Equinor proposes to name Raia Manta (Manta Ray) and Raia Pintada (Spotted Ray), in the Campos Basin. ANP must still approve the field’s suggested names.

According to Equinor, BM-C-33, which lies in water depths up to 2,900 m, contains more than 1 Bboe of recoverable natural gas and oil/condensate.

Equinor aims to develop the fields using a single FPSO that can process the gas and oil/condensate to meet sales specifications without further onshore processing. The FPSO will have a production capacity of 16 MMcm/d of gas with expected average exports of 14 MMcm/d.

The development of Raia Manta and Raia Pintada will be the first project in Brazil to treat gas offshore and be connected to the national grid without further onshore processing. The sales gas is planned to be exported through a 200-km offshore gas pipeline from the FPSO to Cabiúnas, in the city of Macaé, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Liquids are planned to be offloaded by shuttle tankers.

Start-up is slated for 2028.

Repsol Sinopec initially discovered the fields in 2010, and Equinor became operator in 2016.

Equinor operates the concession with 35% interest on behalf of partners Repsol Sinopec Brasil with 35% and Petrobras with 30%.

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