At the 50th edition of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), from 6 to 9/5, Petrobras will highlight its technological journey to enable one of the main exploration and production projects of its portfolio: the development of the Libra block in pre-salt of the Santos Basin. The industry's leading offshore oil and gas event, the OTC will bring together experts, Academy representatives, operators and suppliers from all over the world interested in exchanging experiences on state-of-the-art technology solutions applied to the industry.

Libra is one of the company's great bets for the future not only for its production potential, but also for its ability to drive the development of innovative technologies for the entire industry. The five technologies used in Libra were crucial for Petrobras to have beaten in this block the average monthly production record through a single offshore well. The volume produced by this well reached more than 60 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day.

Special Session 

On the first day of the OTC (6/5), Petrobras will present a special session entirely dedicated to Libra, composed of seven lectures. The innovations used in the project, such as the FPSO (oil production, storage and transfer), will be addressed, which will allow the production of the well at high flow, reinjecting all the gas produced, including the carbon dioxide present in it, avoiding its burning. It is an environmentally sound innovation that streamlines the knowledge of the behavior of the oil field and contributes to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Another highlight will be the tower where the production and injection lines - known as turret - are connected, which has the highest vertical load capacity in the industry.

Technical capacity 

"We will show at the OTC the unique experience of developing Libra, a project unparalleled in the industry due to the high presence of carbon dioxide and contaminants in reservoirs located in ultra deep waters. These peculiar conditions have led our professionals, together with our partners from Shell, Total, CNOOC and CNPC and suppliers, to develop new technologies to make production feasible in this area, "says Production and Technology Development Director Rudimar Lorenzatto. He will give a presentation on the results of the pre-salt, our participation in the last exploratory block auctions and production prospects, at breakfast for OTC guests, also on Monday (6/5).

In the technical sessions, representatives of the company will address the challenges involved in reservoir management in the Campos Basin, as well as solutions to increase the economic attractiveness of offshore projects, among other issues.

OTC Award 

During the conference, Carlos Mastrangelo, a retired Petrobras engineer, will receive the OTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals for developing the FPSO concept as a definitive production system and its regulation in Brazil and the US.

"If today Petrobras is the largest FPSO operator in the world industry and holds the highest expertise in this segment, this result is due - a lot - to the pioneering spirit of professionals like Mastrangelo, who converted this type of unit - originally oil tankers - into authentic production systems. Because they do not require the installation of pipeline infrastructure and have the capacity to store oil, FPSOs have become a more efficient alternative for our company, "says Rudimar.

It is the second time in the 50 years of the North American edition of the OTC that a Brazilian wins this award. The first one was delivered to the engineer Marcos Assayag. In 2007, when he was executive manager of the Petrobras Research Center (Cenpes), Assayag was recognized for its contribution to the development of deepwater and ultra-deepwater technologies.

Petrobras also received three OTC awards for offshore innovations: in 1992, the pioneering technologies used in the Marlim field in the Campos Basin; in 2001, for the strategy to develop Roncador and, in 2015, for the innovations designed to make feasible the production in the pre-salt of the Santos Basin.