Brazil’s largest oil rig kicks off pre‑salt operations

The largest offshore oil production unit installed in Brazil to date—the Almirante Tamandaré, or Búzios 7—has started operating in the Búzios field, in the Santos basin, some 180km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

The FPSO (floating production, storage, and offloading) unit has the capacity to process up to 225 thousand barrels of oil and 12 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, Brazil’s state-run oil giant Petrobras said in a statement on Saturday (Feb. 15).

The Almirante Tamandaré is part of the production line in the Búzios field, along with five other floating units already in operation: P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, and Almirante Barroso. The unit will explore 15 wells—seven oil producers, six water and gas injectors, one convertible (producer and injector), and one gas injector. All of them will be linked to the platform through a submarine infrastructure.

“The FPSO Almirante Tamandaré is part of the sixth production system in Búzios and will help the field reach the production of 1 million barrels of oil per day, scheduled for the second half of 2025,” said the company's president, Magda Chambriard.

The unit was chartered with SBM Offshore and is equipped with decarbonization technology, which, according to Petrobras, contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Heat use technology is also included, which reduces the demand for additional energy for the facility.

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