Last Thursday (11/23), Petrobras unmoored the P-32 platform, in the Marlim Field, in the Campos Basin, and Saturday (11/25) it started navigating the platform to the Rio Grande (RS) shipyard, where the unit will undergo a recycling process, aligned with the best global ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) practices in the industry, aimed at generating value, sustainability, safety and respect for people and the environment. 

This pioneering model reinforces the company’s international commitment to sustainability and a fair energy transition. Furthermore, this milestone represents the creation of new opportunities for the national economic chain, generating value for society.

“This is an important milestone! With the P-32 already underway to the Rio Grande shipyard, in Rio Grande do Sul, we will carry out the first green decommissioning in Brazil. And this is the first of many! Our Strategic Plan expects more than 20 units to be decommissioned. Our country has a strong steel-consuming industry. We are the ninth largest steel producing industry. In other words, we have the product available, a technology to be developed or under development, and the consumer market is present and safe. Therefore, I affirm that the decommissioning of platforms is an excellent opportunity for our local industry”, stated Petrobras’ CEO, Jean Paul Prates.

The sale of P-32 to Gerdau S.A., in partnership with the Ecovix shipyard, was completed in July this year. The unit will be the first floating platform to follow the new sustainable disposal model adopted by Petrobras. Another 11 floating units will follow the same guidelines over the next 5 years.

The platform’s recycling plan, elaborated by Gerdau-Ecovix, was approved by Petrobras and covers everything from the first procedures for receiving the unit, through the dismantling work, which will take place in a dry dock, to the final disposal of the waste resulting from dismantling.

The execution of the plan will be closely monitored by Petrobras throughout the entire recycling process in order to ensure compliance with safety, environment, occupational health and social responsibility practices in a sustainable and auditable way.

Decommissioning is part of the life cycle of a production system and consists of a set of actions associated with the definitive interruption of the operations of a platform and related equipment, when opportunities for extension or maintenance of production are exhausted.

The Green Recycling Policy for vessels, adopted by the company, comprises:
- Implementing actions to minimize waste generation, prevent impacts on biodiversity, as well as reuse equipment and encourage circular economy;
- Using only certified shipyards, equipped with a dry dock or waterproofed land with a drainage system;
- Previously inventorying existing material on the vessel in order to ensure suitable preparation of a recycling plan by the shipyard;
- Recycle the fleet of vessels safely, protecting the environment and people working in the recycling yards;
- Consider the requirements of the European Union Ship Recycling Resolution n. 1257/2013 in the case of international shipyards and/or, in the case of Brazilian ones, the operating licenses and compliance with applicable legislation, rules and regulations on the environment, safety and health of workers, including management of subcontractors;
- Act in accordance with commitments signed by Petrobras, including measures to control corruption and respect for internationally recognized human rights;

Innovation trajectory

The P-32 platform is one of ten units that have already operated in the Marlim and Voador fields, in the Campos Basin. The Marlim and Voador Revitalization project consists of replacing 9 of the Fields’ units with the Anna Nery and Anita Garibaldi, the new FPSOs — from the English acronym for a floating unit that produces, stores and transfers oil. These new units have the joint capacity to produce up to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd).

“With these replacements, we have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50%. This is one of the fronts of the Campos Basin Renewal Plan, which foresees investment of USD 22 billion by 2028, with more than 200 new interconnected wells, in addition to 4 new FPSOs”, highlights the general manager of the Campos Basin Exploration and Production Business Unit, Alex Murteira Célem.

FPSO P-32 was a pioneer in deep waters, treating and exporting through offloading in an integrated way since 1997. Together with FPSO P-47, the unit was able to transport large volumes produced in the northern area of the field, exceeding the original expectations. More than 130 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) from platforms P-18, P-19, P-20 and P-27 were processed. It reached the milestones of treating, storing and exporting around 70% of the Marlim oil and 20% of the Albacora oil, in 2013.