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First oil from Brazil’s pre-salt Iara licence
Total has announced first oil from the Iara licence in block BM-S-11A in the deepwater Santos Basin pre-salt.
This marks the start-up of the FPSO P-68, the first of two floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSO) to be installed on the block. The second, the P-70, is expected to come onstream in 2020. Each unit has a capacity of 150,000 b/d of oil.
The Iara licence comprises the Sururu, Berbigão and Oeste de Atapu fields.
Total acquired a 22.5% working interest in block BM-S-11A in January 2018 as part of a strategic alliance with Petrobras, becoming a partner alongside the state-owned company (operator, 42.5%), Shell (25%) and Petrogal (10%).
Total’s Brazilian E&P portfolio currently includes 23 blocks, with nine operated. Its production in the country averaged 19,000 b/d of oil in 2018, a figure expected to exceed 100,000 b/d by 2025.
In June 2019, Total and its partners made the investment decision for the second phase of the Mero project. The Mero 2 FPSO will have a liquids treatment capacity of 180,000 b/d and is expected to start up by 2022. The Mero 1 project, currently under development, is due onstream in 2021. In October 2019, a consortium led by Total was awarded block C-M-541, located in the Campos Basin, in Brazil’s 16th bidding round.
