Petrobras began oil production in the ultra-deep waters of the Chinook oil field from the FPSO BW Pioneer, moored some 250 km off the coast of the state of Louisiana in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
It is the first FPSO to produce oil and gas in the Gulf, with processing capacity of 80,000 b/o and 500,000 cu m/d of gas, and storage facilities for 500,000 b/o. It is moored at a world-record water depth of 2,500 m.
The Chinook #4 production well was drilled and completed in Lower Tertiary reservoirs, a promising offshore exploration frontier located at a depth of around 8,000 m. The well is connected to the FPSO by a system incorporating subsea equipment and lines, in addition to free-standing risers. Oil will be transported to shore on shuttle tankers, and gas through pipelines.
Petrobras is the first company to develop an oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico using these technologies, tried and tested with excellent results in Brazil.
Production in the Cascade field began in February 2012, and the concession is 100% Petrobras. In the Chinook field, Petrobras has a 66.67% interest, with the remaining 33.33% held by Total Exploration Production USA Inc.
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