Petrobras and Seatrium held a naming and sailaway ceremony for two new offshore platforms, the P-80 and P-82, on Thursday, August 27, at the Tuas Boulevard Yard shipyard in Singapore. The two units are destined for the Búzios field in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin, Brazil's largest field by both reserves and production volume.

Final Integration Before Brazil Departure

Both platforms are currently in the final phase of module integration at the Singapore yard. The units are scheduled to begin their voyage to Brazil within the coming weeks, with the P-80, also designated Búzios 9, set to be the first to depart.

Production from both units is expected to begin in 2027.

Petrobras President Magda Chambriard attended the ceremony in Singapore alongside a company delegation. In remarks at the event, she described the two units as part of a broader expansion push at Búzios, one of the company's most strategically significant assets.

Among the Highest-Capacity Platforms in the World

Each platform carries a production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day, which Petrobras describes as one of the largest capacities in the global offshore industry. In addition to oil output, each unit is capable of processing 12 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Chambriard noted that the P-80 and P-82 form part of a new cycle of six high-capacity production units.

That cycle began with the FPSO Almirante Tamandaré, which is already operating at the Búzios field above its design capacity, having recorded peak production of 270,000 barrels of oil per day. Following the P-80 and P-82, Petrobras expects to complete the P-83, P-84, and P-85. The P-83 is also slated for the Búzios field, while the P-84 will be deployed at the Atapu field and the P-85 at the Sépia field.

"We hope to achieve in all these units production exceeding 225,000 barrels per day," Chambriard said during the Singapore ceremony.

Beyond raw production figures, Petrobras stated that the platforms will incorporate digital technologies and solutions designed to deliver greater operational and energy efficiency.

Construction Spread Across Multiple Countries

The platforms were contracted under an EPC model, which stands for Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning. Under this arrangement, the contractor, Seatrium, carries responsibility for engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning through to delivery for operations in Brazil.

Construction was distributed across several countries. The process modules for the P-80 were fabricated in Brazil at the Seatrium BrasFELS shipyard in Angra dos Reis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The process modules for the P-82 were built at the Seatrium Aracruz shipyard in the state of Espírito Santo.

Additional construction work took place in China, Singapore, and Indonesia.

All modules were subsequently transported to Singapore for final integration before the platforms departed for Brazil. Petrobras highlighted the Brazilian manufacturing component as contributing to workforce qualification and generating employment and income through the domestic naval industry.

Búzios as a Strategic Hub for Petrobras Expansion

The Búzios field sits in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin and holds the distinction of being Brazil's largest field in terms of both reserves and current production. The successive deployment of high-capacity units at the field underscores its central role in Petrobras's production growth strategy.

The FPSO Almirante Tamandaré, the first unit in this new cycle, has already demonstrated that output can surpass nameplate capacity, reaching 270,000 barrels of oil per day against an original design target.

Chambriard expressed confidence that the P-80 and P-82, along with the units that follow, would replicate or exceed that performance benchmark of 225,000 barrels per day.

With the P-80 preparing to be the first of the pair to leave Singapore, attention now turns to the logistics of the long ocean transit to Brazilian waters and the subsequent commissioning work required before first oil can flow in 2027.