The Lapa South West oil field is located in the Santos Basin, approximately 300km off the coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
It is being developed and operated by energy company TotalEnergies, which holds a 45% stake in the field. Energy and petrochemical company Shell holds a 30% interest in the field, and Repsol Sinopec, an oil and gas exploration and production company, holds the remaining 25%.
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The final investment decision for the field development was announced by TotalEnergies in January 2023. The estimated investment in the project, which is scheduled to commence operations in 2025, is $1bn.
With the commencement of production from Lapa South West, the production from the Lapa field will grow by 25,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), increasing the total production to 60,000bopd.
Location
The Lapa South West oil field is located in the south-west part of the Lapa (formerly Carioca) field. Situated in the pre-salt Santos Basin, the field is within the BM-S-9A concession, in a water depth of 2,150m.
The Lapa oil field was discovered in 2007 and started production in 2016. It is currently producing from the north-east part of the field.
The block BM-S-9A includes the Sapinhoa and Lapa fields. The block was under concession to Petrobras (45%), BG Group (30%) and Repsol Sinopec (25%). Shell came to own a stake in the block by acquiring BG Group in 2016.
In 2018, Petrobras transferred its 45% share in the block to TotalEnergies, which became the operator.
Lapa South West field development details
The Lapa South West oil field development will use the existing facilities and infrastructure of the Lapa oil field. The plan for its development includes three wells that will be tied back to the Cidade de Caraguatatuba floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is located 12km away.
The subsea production system will include up to three subsea trees and control systems, tie-ins, subsea structures, subsea umbilicals and flowlines, along with associated equipment. The installation of subsea trees and umbilicals is expected to be completed between the first and fourth quarters of 2024.
Cidade de Caraguatatuba MV27 FPSO details
The Cidade de Caraguatatuba MV27 FPSO is owned and operated by MODEC. Installed in a water depth of 2,126m, the vessel was constructed by shipbuilding company Mitsui E&S Holdings (formerly Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding). It has a water injection capacity of 120,000 barrels a day (bpd) and storage capacity of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil.
The FPSO has an oil production capacity of 100,000bopd and gas production capacity of 177 million metric standard cubic feet per day (Mmscfd). It is equipped with SOFEC’s ABS-classed spread mooring system.
Contractors involved
In January 2023, a contract for the supply of the subsea production system for the Lapa South West field was awarded to a consortium of Aker Solutions, a sustainable energy solutions provider based in Norway, and oilfield services company Saipem.
The scope of the contract includes providing engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) services for subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines, and a subsea production system. The existing control system at the Lapa field will also be upgraded as part of the contract.
Saipem will use its Guarujá CTCO (Centro de Tecnologia e Construção Offshore) offshore construction and fabrication centre for logistic activities, quad joint fabrications and other related manufacturing operations.
