Petrobras starts production from Lula northeast presalt

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) reported the start of oil and gas production from the 7-LL-11-RJS well in Lula Northeast field offshore Brazil.

The well, which was drilled on Block BM-S-11, is connected to the Cidade de Paraty floating production, storage, and offloading vessel, which has the capacity to process as much as 120,000 bo/d and 5 million cu m/day of gas. The FPSO is anchored in 2,120 m of water.

Production, which began June 6, is from presalt reservoirs in the Santos basin about 300 km offshore.

The well—the first in the drilling program to be connected to the FPSO—has the potential to produce 25,000 bo/d, but Petrobras is restricting output in the first month of operation to 13,000 bo/d of oil, it said, adding that production will be "ramped up as natural gas processing and reinjection systems are commissioned."

Lula Northeast field produces 29º gravity crude. Gas output will be piped to the Monteiro Lobato gas treatment unit in Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo state, through the Lula-Mexilhao gas pipeline, which started operations in fall 2011 (OGJ Online, Sept. 20, 2011). The Lula-Mexilhao pipeline extends 216 km, starting 2,145 m below sea level at the Cidade de Angra dos Reis FPSO, and ending at the Mexilhao platform, at a depth of 172 m.

Another seven production wells and six injection wells will be connected to the Cidade de Paraty FPSO in the upcoming months, Petrobras said. Peak production of 120,000 bo/d is expected in second-half 2014.

Lula field has an estimated total recoverable volume of 8.3 billion boe, according to Petrobras. Production started on the Cidade de Angra dos Reis FPSO in 2010 (OGJ Online, Oct. 28, 2010). The field was discovered in 2006.

Petrobras holds a 65% interest in the block. Its partners are BG E&P Brasil Ltda. 25% and Portugal Brasil SA 10%.