China National Offshore Oil Helps Put World’s Largest Deepwater Oilfield Project into Production Ahead of Schedule

The Phase 8 project of Brazil’s Búzios oilfield, the world’s largest deepwater oilfield in which China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) participates in construction and holds equity, has recently been put into production ahead of schedule. This milestone not only highlights the outstanding cooperation between China and Brazil in the energy field but also demonstrates CNOOC’s strong professional capabilities in deepwater oil and gas development.

Brazil is rich in deepwater oil and gas resources with excellent endowments. Xinhua News Agency reports that the newly commissioned Phase 8 project is located in the Santos Basin in the southeastern waters of Brazil, with an operating water depth ranging from 1,900 meters to 2,200 meters. It adopts an all-offshore development model combining a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit with an underwater production system.

The development plan of Búzios Phase 8 includes 8 production wells and 6 injection wells. Its FPSO P-79 has a designed crude oil production capacity of approximately 25,000 tons per day (180,000 barrels per day), a natural gas processing capacity of 7.2 million cubic meters per day, and an external transportation capacity of 3 million cubic meters per day.

At present, Phases 1 to 7 of the Búzios oilfield have all been put into production. The commissioning of Phase 8 will help build a production capacity of more than 1.3 million barrels per day, further enhancing Brazil’s position in the global energy market and contributing to the stability of the international energy supply chain.

CNOOC has actively participated in the joint development of the project. A significant part of the hull and most of the upper modules of FPSO P-79 were built in China, among which CNOOC undertook the construction of 13 modules weighing over 20,000 tons. This important contribution has provided strong support for the project to be completed and put into production ahead of schedule, showcasing CNOOC’s solid professional strength to its partners.

CNOOC’s involvement in Brazil’s energy sector has a solid foundation. The company successfully acquired equity in the Búzios project’s Production Sharing Contract (PSC) in September 2021 and completed a partial equity increase in December 2022. Beyond the Búzios oilfield, CNOOC also holds equity in Brazil’s giant pre-salt deepwater Mero oilfield and 7 other deepwater oil and gas exploration blocks.

Looking ahead, CNOOC will continue to deepen its cooperation with Brazilian partners, leveraging its technological and operational advantages to promote the high-quality development of deepwater oil and gas projects in Brazil. It will also further expand its layout in Brazil’s energy market, strengthen technological exchanges and cooperation, and contribute more to the stable development of Brazil’s energy industry and the deepening of China-Brazil pragmatic cooperation in the energy field.