Petrobras's P-79 platform, an FPSO-type unit, arrived at the Santos Basin pre-salt this weekend, according to the planned schedule. The unit was towed to its location with the crew on board, a successful strategy already used with P-78 to reduce the time to start production.
 
"Embarking the crew during the voyage to the location allows complex FPSO systems to be brought into operational condition without interrupting the continuity of the commissioning process, in addition to enabling team training. All of this speeds up the start of production. The next steps will be anchoring the unit and connecting it to the producing wells," explains Petrobras's Director of Engineering, Technology and Innovation, Renata Baruzzi.
 
FPSO P-79 is another of the 12 units planned for installation in the Búzios field and joins the seven platforms already in operation: FPSOs P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, Almirante Barroso, Almirante Tamandaré and P-78. P-79 has a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil, in addition to compressing 7.2 million m³ of gas per day. In October 2025, the field surpassed the milestone of 1 million barrels of oil produced per day, becoming Petrobras's largest-producing ultra-deepwater field.
 
The Búzios field is located in ultra-deep waters of the Santos Basin (depth of up to 2,100 meters), 180 km off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. FPSO P-79 is part of the Búzios 8 Production Development project, which includes 14 wells, comprising 8 producers and 6 WAG injectors.
 
P-79 was built by SAME Netherlands BV, a Joint Venture formed by the Italian company SAIPEM Spa and South Korea's Hanwha Ocean, in Geoje-si, where the hull was constructed and the integration and commissioning of the topside modules were carried out. These modules were built in China, Brazil, South Korea, and Indonesia. The voyage from the shipyard to Brazil took approximately three months.
 
The Búzios consortium operating in the field is composed of Petrobras (operator), the Chinese partner companies CNOOC and CNODC, and PPSA, the company responsible for managing production sharing contracts.