Petrobras and Baker Hughes Centrilift have successfully started a subsea pressure boosting system in the deepwater Jubarte Field offshore Brazil in the Campos Basin. The one megawatt electrical submersible pumping (ESP) system was installed at Jubarte in November 2005, but was not brought on line until recently, following hook up of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. The system is producing approximately 22,000 BPD in 4,600 feet of water. Petrobras plans to install an additional eight vertical booster stations using ESP technology at Jubarte in the coming months.

Baker Hughes Centrilift also has supplied seven multi-phase ESP systems to Petrobras for subsea pressure boosting in the Espadarte and Golfinho fields offshore Brazil. Installation is currently under way with start up due this summer. The Espadarte Field is a subsea development in 4,600 feet of water in the Campos Basin. Flow rates are expected to total about 19,000 BPD per well. The subsea Golfinho Field is in 4,800 feet of water offshore southeast Brazil and estimated flow rates from the field will be 28,000 BPD per well.

Peter Lawson, Baker Hughes Centrilift subsea development manager, noted, “The successful start up of the ESP at Jubarte, after 17 months in the well, validates the trust Petrobras has shown in the use of ESP systems for deepwater pressure boost applications.”

With 50 years of submersible pumping experience and tens of thousands of installations worldwide, Centrilift can leverage its industry leading ESP technology to design and manufacture boost system options for a full range of subsea developments. ESP systems can be installed in the riser, at the mud line or down-hole, depending on the needs of the development.

Baker Hughes is a leading provider of drilling, formation evaluation, completion and production products and services to the worldwide oil and gas industry.

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