Petrobras has awarded SLB and its partners two subsea raw seawater injection (RWI) systems to increase recovery from the prolific Búzios Field offshore Brazil, SLB said Dec. 12.

The award comes a day after Petrobras selected SLB to handle integrated services at its offshore fields.

Joint venture (JV) SLB OneSubsea will provide subsea RWI systems to increase the production of FPSOs currently bottlenecked in their water injection capacities. Once operational, the RWI systems will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions per barrel of oil as they are a more efficient means of reservoir pressurization to increase recovery when compared with the conventional alternative of topside injection systems, SLB said. OneSubsea is a JV among SLB, Aker Solutions and Subsea7.

“As deepwater basins mature, we see more and more secondary recovery opportunities emerging,” said Mads Hjelmeland, CEO of SLB OneSubsea. “Subsea raw seawater injection is a well-proven application with a strong business case that we think should become mainstream. By placing the system directly on the seabed, we free up space and reduce fuel needs for the FPSOs as well as lessen the power needs for the injection systems. It’s a win-win for Petrobras, and one that we are very excited about. This contract will consolidate our solid local content presence in the country, contributed by the largest manufacturing plants and state-of-the-art subsea service facilities in Brazil.”

Under the contract, SLB OneSubsea will provide two complete subsea RWI systems to support Petrobras’ FPSOs P-74 and P-75. Each will consist of a subsea seawater injection pump, umbilical system and topside variable speed drive.