Brazil’s new Atlanta FPSO exports first crude cargo

Market: Crude oil, Oil products
03/03/25

Brazil's newly commissioned Atlanta floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit has loaded its first cargo of Atlanta crude aboard the Sonangol Namibe in end-February, data from global trade analytics platform Kpler show.

This marks the unit's first shipment since achieving first oil in late 2024. Trading firm Trafigura is likely the charterer of the vessel, according to Kpler data.

Brava Energia previously announced in February that it sold 6mn bl of oil from its Atlanta field to Singapore-based commodity trader Trafigura. The contract's price is linked to Singapore VLSFO benchmark prices. But the specific price could not be confirmed. Atlanta crude is classified as a heavy sweet crude and is primarily exported to the Singapore straits region, where it is highly valued for very-low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) blending because of its low sulphur content and relatively heavy API content of about 14-16.

The FPSO Atlantaunit is operated by independent producer Brava Energia, a Brazilian oil and gas firm created from the merger of oil companies 3R Petroleum and Enauta, with the FPSO chartered from Malaysia's Yinson Production. The unit operates in the Atlanta field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil, and achieved first oil on 31 December 2024, according to Yinson.

Heavy sweet Atlanta crude oil was previously produced from the Petrojarl I FPSO, which was decommissioned in late 2024. This is in line with the last observed export of Atlanta crude in early November, with no shipments recorded until the latest loading in February, according to data from Kpler.

The newer Atlanta FPSO can process up to 50,000 b/d of oil, 70pc higher compared to the Petrojarl I, and has a storage capacity of 1.2mn bl, more than a sixfold increase, according to a document from Yinson.

This latest development is likely to further pressure the Asian VLSFO market, which is already grappling with ample supplies in Singapore that have weighed on prices. Increased supplies from Brazil, Kuwait's KPC and Nigeria's Dangote are expected to discharge in the region this month, with March arrivals forecast to be over 1mn t higher than in February. But the latest shipment will likely spill over into April's supply and demand balance, given the typical 45–60 day voyage from Brazil to Singapore.

By Asill Bardh

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