Barracuda and Caratinga Fields, Campos Basin, Brazil

The Barracuda and Caratinga fields lie 160km east of Macae in Block BC-50B, offshore Brazil. Together, they will add 30% to the current 1 million barrels per day output from the Campos Basin region. The two fields cover a combined area of 230km².

The fields lie in water depths of 785m in Barracuda and 1,035m in Caratinga, although some wells will sit in even deeper water down to 1,148m. Recoverable reserves for Barracuda are estimated at 867 million barrels of oil and 10.7 billion cubic metres of gas, while Caratinga, to the south contains an estimated 362 million barrels and 4 billion cubic metres of gas. Since 1998, the fields have been producing from 15 wells, tied back to the Petrobras P34floater. This vessel will leave the field once the new facilities are in operation.

The Petrobras-owned Barracuda and Caratinga Development Corporation (BCDC) reached a $2.6 billion agreement with Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root and Halliburton Energy Services (HES) business units to develop the field. This covers a full engineering, procurement, installation and construction (EPIC) contract including the construction of the wells and the fabrication and installation of flowline and risers, as well as the construction and installation of two floating, production, storage, offloading vessels (FPSOs).

SUBSEA

The EPIC contract covers the construction of 55 wells (22 horizontal producers and two multilateral horizontal producers as well as eight horizontal injectors and eight piggyback injectors). The development also includes the 15 old wells currently connected to the P34.

Part of the produced gas will be used for gas lift in the wells, while water injection strategies will demand between 200,000-250,000b/d.

The drilling is being carried out by Petrobras under a subcontract to KBR. Between four and seven rigs will operate in the field simultaneously, including the Transocean Driller, Diamond Ocean Alliance and R&B Falcon's Peregrine III.

FPSOs

The development is based on two large FPSOs, which KBR purchased from Stena. These FPSOs will be moored 12.7km apart.

Barracuda will use the P43, originally the Stena Continent, which is being converted at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. The topsides will be integrated at the Maua Jurong yard in Niteroi near Rio.

Caratinga will be developed by converting the Stena Concordia into the P48. This work is being carried out at the BrasFels yard in Angra dos Reis, near Rio. Each of the FPSOs has a storage capacity of 2 million barrels. In addition, each FPSO has production capabilities of 150,000 barrels per day. The FPSOs will be moored by 18 polyester and chain lines each via a taut-leg system.

The subsea wells will be connected individually to the FPSO by flexible risers. The total cumulative riser length will be 420km or over 170 reels. Each well will have a production flowline and annulus line. On Barracuda, there are 81 pull-ins while Caratinga will have 52 pull-ins. Both have 26 spare slots. These flexible risers range in size from 4in to 9.5in and are manufactured by Wellstream. Another 40 or more reels will contain 243km of control umbilicals.

Halliburton KBR will use its reel vessel Torsa Perseus as well as DSND's Commander 3000.

EXPORT

Oil will be offloaded in to a shuttle tanker from the two FPSOs, while the gas will be piped via two 9.5in diameter gas export risers to a 60t pipeline end manifold (PLEM). A 12in gas export riser will take it the PNA-1 platform.

Production is scheduled to begin in December 2003, with peak production expected within 24 months.