The reduction in oil prices, new operating regulations, the approximation of the end of concession contracts and the operational life of platforms indicate a scenario of growth in the demand for decommissioning of production systems in Brazil in the coming years. Petrobras has been preparing to meet this challenge by creating a specific structure and seeking to work together with industry, universities and regulators in order to reduce the uncertainties surrounding the issue.

The subject was the subject of a lecture given by the manager of Decommissioning, Eduardo Zacaron, in Brazil Offshore, Fair and Conference of the Oil Industry, yesterday (22/6). Zacaron participated in the Production Unit panel, chaired by the General Manager of Research & Development of Production, Gustavo Adolfo de Castro, Petrobras.

Decommissioning involves activities in three major disciplines: wells, underwater systems and platforms. And the service industry across the globe is planning to meet each of these demands. In this sense, the company will seek differentiated business models and specific technological solutions for each of the three major activities, aiming at reducing costs and prioritizing environmental and safety aspects.

There are opportunities from the decommissioning planning stage, which includes environmental, technical and economic studies, to the operational part itself, which is the actual decommissioning. "We want to develop integrated studies involving specific and optimized technical solutions for decommissioning activities," points out Zacaron.