15-02-05 Brazil's federal energy company Petrobras plans to start operations of 18 offshore oil and gas production and/or treatment units in the Campos and Espirito Santo basins in 2005-2008, the company told.
The company plans to start up 5 units this year and another 13 in 2006-2008.

The 150,000 bpd P-48 Caratinga floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) is scheduled to start first oil production in the first quarter of this year near its sister P-43 Barracuda FPSO in the deep-water Campos basin.
Staying in the Campos basin, the 130,000 bpd P-47 oil treatment and storage unit should come online at the Marlim field in March and Petrobras plans to kick start the 180,000 bpd P-50 production platform at the Albarcoa Leste field and the 60,000 bpd P-34 FPSO at the Jubarte field in the second half of 2005. In March-May the company plans to start operations of a gas production platform at the Peroa-Cangoa gas field in the Espirito Santo basin.

Petrobras' investment in exploration and production is pegged at $ 5 bn for 2005 and is part of company efforts to raise production to 1.77 mm bpd from 1.49 mm bpd in 2004. Some $ 3 bn will be invested in the Campos basin, where over 80 % of the company's oil production comes from. The country wants to reach oil self-sufficiency by 2006.
In 2006, the company has scheduled the start of operations of another four oil and gas offshore production units. The company will concentrate on developing the Golfinho light crude and gas field project in the Espirito Santo basin.

In the first half of 2006, the company should start production with a leased 100,000 bpd platform in Golfinho and another similarly sized unit for the nearby ESS-132 block. Also in the first half, the company should start operations of a unit with 6 mm cmpd natural gas production capacity in the north-eastern Manati gas field in the Camamu-Almada basin and a 100,000 bpd oil production unit in the Espadarte field in the Campos basin.
In 2007-2008, the company plans to startoperations of another 10 production units in the Campos basin to continue development of the Marlim and Roncador fields.

In the first half of 2007, the P-52 and the P-57 units, each with capacity to produce 180,000 bpd, should start operations on the Roncador field.
In the second half, the company will start the 180,000 bpd P-53 platform at the Marlim Field, while in Albarcoa a second 100,000 bpd oil production unit should come online.
In the Frade field, also in the Campos basin, a 100,000 bpd oil production unit should start operations in the second half, when the PRA-1 pumping platform with capacity of 815,000 bpd should also start operations.

In 2008, the following four platforms should come online in the Campos basin: the 180,000 bpd P-51 and the 100,000 bpd P-56 units should start production in the Marlim Sul field; the P-55 is planned for the Roncador field and the P-57 should start operations in the Jubarte field.
Most of the fields are over 100 km from the coast at water depths of more than 1 km.