Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 13, Petrobras has commenced the journey of its latest floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, P-79, from Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Geoje-Si, South Korea, destined for the Búzios field in Brazil’s Santos Basin. The departure took place with the crew on board to accelerate the start of production.

FPSO P-79 at the Hanwha Ocean shipyard in South Korea

FPSO P-79 is scheduled to arrive at the field in February 2026, with production expected to begin in August 2026. The unit is designed to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day and compress 7.2 million cubic meters of gas daily. The P-79 project will operate 14 wells, including eight producers and six water-alternating-gas (WAG) injectors.

Petrobras noted that the start-up of the field’s seventh unit, P-78, planned for December, will increase the installed production capacity of Búzios by about 15.6%, reaching approximately 1.3 million barrels per day. Renata Baruzzi, Petrobras’ Director of Engineering, Technology and Innovation, stated: “The arrival of the manned platform, similar to what was done with the P-78, has proven to be a successful strategy to reduce the time to start production. This is the eighth unit out of the twelve planned for the field.”

Baruzzi added: “Our expectation is that we will be able to bring forward first oil by two months compared to what is set out in our Strategic Plan. This is yet another result of the dedication of the entire Petrobras team, combined with supplier negotiations, detailed planning, and, above all, the discipline to deliver what was planned.”

The Búzios field is located in ultra-deep waters of the Santos Basin, at depths up to 2,100 meters and about 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. Six FPSOs are already operating at the site: P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, Almirante Barroso, and Almirante Tamandaré.

Almirante Tamandaré, which began operations in February 2025, reached a record instantaneous production flow of 270,000 barrels per day on October 25, 2025. The seventh unit, P-78, departed Seatrium’s Benoi shipyard in Singapore on July 13 and arrived at Búzios on September 30. Following its arrival, the field surpassed the milestone of producing 1 million barrels of oil per day, becoming Petrobras’ largest producing field.

With the addition of P-79, Petrobras aims to further expand the field’s production capacity and maintain its position as a key contributor to Brazil’s offshore oil output. The approach of deploying manned FPSOs to the field prior to production start is intended to optimize operational readiness and reduce delays, reinforcing Petrobras’ strategy of efficient project execution and technological expertise in ultra-deepwater operations.

The ongoing development of Búzios, with twelve FPSOs planned, underscores Petrobras’ commitment to leveraging advanced offshore infrastructure to support Brazil’s energy supply and maximize output from one of its most significant deepwater assets.