November 1, 2019
Equinor is the second largest oil company in Brazil in terms of oil and gas production volume. And if it depends on the company’s plans, the idea is to further expand these numbers. That’s what the company’s global supply chain vice president, Mauro Andrade reveals. “We estimate that with the entry of Peregrino 2, Carcará and BM-C-33, our production will be between 300,000 and 500,000 barrels per day (our share) by 2030,” he said. Equinor is currently at 100,000 barrels per day. In an interview with Petronotícia, the executive detailed other important aspects, such as the projects to increase to 30% the recovery factor of the Peregrino field, in the Campos Basin, and the strategies to reduce CO2 emissions in its operations. In addition, Andrade comments that Equinor wants to further strengthen ties with the Brazilian supply chain and lists the points needed for domestic companies that want to do business with the Norwegian oil company.
Brazil is considered as one of Equinor’s priority areas. What led to this interest in the country?
There are several factors. I think Brazil’s geological potential is undoubtedly an important factor. But you should remember that even before the pre-salt rounds, Equinor had already the Phase 1 Peregrino project since 2011. We are about to install the third platform in the field, which we call the Phase 2 Peregrino, which is due to start production by the end of 2020. Equinor entered into a 25% partnership with Petrobras in Roncador. And we also acquired the Carcará operation. This was all done before the pre-salt rounds. Of course, the availability of rounds helps the company plan, but the company had already defined Brazil as one of the international production hubs even before those rounds.
This is because we consider that Brazil matches our strategy well, as it has geological potential. The very issue of the country having continental dimensions opens up opportunities beyond oil and gas, such as renewable energy. This is within our strategy. It is a country able to talk with the strategies defined by Equinor in almost all segments. We do not find this in many countries of the world. This is one of the reasons why we chose Brazil as one of the growth engines going forward.
Equinor presented its demand for products and services during an event for the local industry. Can you share with us some of Equinor’s expectation for the national supply chain?
Three message groups were passed. The first is the issue of attention to health, environment and safety. And also business integrity and ethics issues, which we expect from suppliers around the world, not just from Brazil. This is fundamental to us. Especially in the part of transparency and business integrity. Brazil went through a very serious integrity crisis that originated in the oil and gas sector. The entire industry in Brazil needs to make an effort to improve the country’s image abroad. Seriousness in the business environment is very important.
The second message group is about ways we can collaborate with them to make a better business environment.
And finally, we talk a little about Peregrino, a challenging project that we have been operating for many years. We have passed the 200 million barrel mark produced over eight years. It is a heavy oil field. No other operator wanted to try to develop this area, but Equinor succeeded. It is a success story. If Equinor had not tried, this oil would still be underground, without generating jobs or wealth for the country. We have to recognize that Peregrino work was done in conjunction with the suppliers. Alone, we would not have come this far. That was a thank you message we gave at the event. We ask them to remain engaged with us, because in addition to Peregrino Phase 2, we have Carcará and Pão de Açúcar. We may have 30 to 40 years of operation ahead of us, considering only the portfolio we own. It’s a call for suppliers to stick with us.
Since you mentioned Peregrino, could you talk about Equinor’s plans to increase the field’s recovery factor?
We aim to increase the Peregrino recovery factor to around 20% or 30%. In a very heavy oil field, as is the case, it is a very ambitious goal. As the Peregrino field is complex, I can say that since the earliest days we began to produce, we had been thinking about improved recovery methods.
What we are doing today is injecting water to try to improve recovery, but we have also tested injecting polymers into the reservoir. We also use valves, in addition to some wells, to block the water inlet, allowing only the passage of oil. These are examples of methods that we have been using for a long time. As far as polymers are concerned, this is a pilot project which has already shown promising results. We keep studying this to move on.
And of course, with Peregrino Phase 2, we’ll drill more wells. We will reach a part of the reservoir that we cannot reach with existing platforms. All of this will increase the volume of reserves and the recovery factor as well.
Does Equinor intend to replicate initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions in other assets besides Peregrino?
When we talk about reducing CO2 emissions, we are talking about two things. First, we are talking about operating an existing asset more efficiently – whether it’s using less fuel or optimizing its logistics. Or, for new assets, we are talking about building, together with suppliers, a project that is more energy efficient.
For Peregrino, for example, we have some initiatives. We now better manage the fuel of the support boats. In the Peregrino field itself, where we generate power through diesel, we are importing gas from Route 2. We have built a 45 km pipeline that will connect Route 2 to the new platform in the field. Natural gas comes in replacing diesel, therefore, with a significant reduction of 100 thousand tons of CO2 per year.
What are the goals / forecasts for oil and gas production growth in Brazil?
We are currently producing 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. This number refers to our participation. We estimate that with the entry of Peregrino 2, Carcará and BM-C-33, our production will be between 300 thousand and 500 thousand barrels per day (our share) by 2030. The operated value is higher than this, but our share will be between 300 thousand and 500 thousand barrels per day.
Source: Petronoticia
Brazil Energy Insight 
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