Petrobras, operator of the Libra consortium, started hiring suppliers to execute the project, build, install and carry out HISEP® tests, a technology patented by the company that aims to separate and reinject, even at the bottom of the sea, the gas with high content of CO2 that is produced along with oil. The contracting began after the conclusion of conceptual assessments and pilot tests on land, when Petrobras and the supplier companies worked in partnership to carry out conceptual studies and validate the performance of the subsea pumps that will reinject the CO2-rich gas into the reservoir. . The expectation is that the manufacturer will be selected by August/2022 and that the equipment will be installed in 2025.

HISEP® could open a new frontier for exploration and development of oil production in deep and ultra-deep waters, in regions where there are reservoir fluids with high gas-oil ratio and CO2 content. HISEP® will provide increased oil production by freeing up space in the surface gas processing plant. The pilot test is scheduled to be carried out in the Mero 3 area, which should start production in 2024. After two years of testing, with the technology being proven, the HISEP® will be able to be used in other areas, such as Central Libra and Jupiter , where innovation has the potential to make the production development project viable. Once the HISEP® technology is proven, it will also be possible to develop offshore production units with smaller and less complex gas processing plants, which have lower costs and construction times, as well as lower operating costs.

Early engagement

Petrobras has been working in partnership with companies in the market in the form understood by the concept of early engagement, that is, with the involvement of suppliers in the development of technology from the initial stages of the process, for the definition and development of the solution to be adopted in the product Final. The objective is to make the technology not only technically viable, but also replicable and commercially interesting for the market.

Since 2017, companies have been consulted to identify the equipment that had already been developed by them and that could be adapted for the project, as well as the main existing technological bottlenecks so that the project could become a reality. Over the years, conceptual studies and performance tests have been successfully developed in partnership, such as verification of the performance of underwater centrifugal pumps injecting dense gas, rich in CO2.

The Libra Consortium is operated by Petrobras (40%), in partnership with Shell (20%), Total (20%), CNPC (10%) and CNOOC Limited (10%), managed by Pre-Salt Petróleo. SA (PPSA).