17 Nov 2009 - by PreSalt.com - Source: Petrobras News
Petrobras (Bovespa: PETR3/PETR4, NYSE: PBR / PBRA, Latibex: XPBR / XPBRA, BCBA: APBR / APBRA) and BG Group (BG.L, BG.LN) formalized, today (11/17), the creation of a joint venture to develop the FEED (Front End Engineering and Design) aiming to build an onboard natural gas liquefaction unit (OLNU), the world’s first. The plant is expected to operate in the Santos Basin’s Pre-Salt Pole, located 300 km off the coast. The ONGU unit is one of the technological transportation solutions that can be used to outflow the natural gas produced in the pre-salt layers.
The joint venture that was signed today consolidates the partnerships between the two companies, which are currently partners in three blocks in the Santos Basin Pre-Salt blocks. Through this association, the companies blend their internationally renowned expertise: Petrobras in deepwater oil and natural gas exploration and production; and BG Group in producing and trading liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The tender for preparation of the FEED for the OLNU unit was started last August. All of the companies that were invited submitted proposals, which were sent in on October 26. Each bidder formed a consortium with oil industry agents with renowned experience in building FPSOs (floating oil production, storage and offloading unit) and LNG plants. Next December, agreements will be signed with up to three companies that were invited to bid, based on the classification criteria established for the tender.
The purpose of developing multiple FEEDs is to drive competition among the vendors and, thus, help reduce unit deployment costs. The winners have 12 months to prepare the FEEDs.
In 2011, based on a technical and economic feasibility analysis of the FEEDs and of other alternative solutions, such as installing submarine gas pipelines, a decision will be made regarding the best option to outflow the gas from the Santos Basin’s Pre-Salt Pole.
Strategic project
Natural gas is traditionally liquefied (transforming natural gas from its natural gaseous state to the liquid state) in onshore units. However, on account of the distance between the coast and the areas where the Santos Basin’s Pre-Salt Pole blocks are located, Petrobras decided to also assess the possibility of installing an ONGU unit to outflow natural gas production from these areas.
Installed near the FPSOs, the ONGU plant will receive the associated gas and process and liquefy the natural gas, butane, propane, and condensate. The unit’s processing capacity will be up to 14 million cubic meters per day of associated gas. The ONGU will also store and transfer processed products to gas carrier vessels, which, in turn, will then transport it to the consumer market.
In the case of LNG, the product will be delivered to regasification terminals, where the natural gas is transformed from the liquid to the gaseous state and, finally, injected into the gas pipeline network. In Brazil, Petrobras’ LNG regasification terminals are installed in Pecém (state of Ceará) and in the Guanabara Bay (state of Rio de Janeiro).
Strategic for Petrobras and for the BG Group, the project will allow Santos Basin’s Pre-Salt Pole gas reserves to be monetized, ensuring flexibility to supply the internal market and the possibility of exporting the product in the spot market during periods of low demand in the Brazilian thermoelectric segment.
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