Petrobras testing new STS system for oil exports

Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras will test a cargo transfer vessel (CTV) in 2022 to more efficiently offload rising pre-salt production.

The CTV test falls under the $342mn that Petrobras has earmarked for expanding transshipment capacity in its $68bn 2022-26 capital spending plan.

The company chartered the CTV from Norwegian firm Sealoading to transfer crude directly from floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units to VLCCs and Suezmax and Aframax tankers. Petrobras told Argus it will test the system next year after it received clearance from environmental regulator Ibama.

The deployment of a CTV aligns with Petrobras' goal of producing pre-salt oil safely and more efficiently, and with lower emissions.

CTV eliminates the need for dynamic positioning (DP) shuttle tankers, the primary method for getting offshore crude onto carriers for export.

The CTV Sealoader-1 is already deployed by France's TotalEnergies at the Lapa pre-salt field. Other pre-salt producers such as Norway's Equinor, Portugal's Galp and Shell are likely to adopt the system as well, a local maritime executive close to the company says.

Shell said "at this point" it is "only using DP vessels for its transshipment operations in Brazil" and would not comment on a potential change. "Our fleet of DP vessels changes depending on Shell's production levels in the country," the company said.

Equinor said it is "closely monitoring and evaluating" the new technology. Galp did not respond to a request for comment.

The CTV can save time and cut logistical costs by more than $1/bl and reduce emissions by up to 80pc compared with alternatives, according to Sealoading.

The risk profile is comparable to DP vessels now used to transport crude to transshipment hubs in Brazil and Uruguay, a Rio de Janeiro-based broker tells Argus.

"We are very careful with our offloading operations," Petrobras logistics director Claudio Mastella said last month of the company's transshipment operations.

Export boom

Petrobras' production is slated to reach 2.6mn b/d by 2026 and is positioned to skyrocket after that. Brazil's total oil production is set to reach 4.26mn b/d in 2026 and peak at around 5.26mn b/d in 2028, according to data from state-owned energy research firm EPE.

The expected export wave will require multiple logistics options to bring crude to market, local industry executives agree.

Petrobras has more than 20 shuttle tankers in its fleet and is scheduled to receive three more in 2022. The company exports most of its crude through its Angra dos Reis and Sao Sebastian terminals, but also has a transshipment agreement at Acu port in Rio de Janeiro state. Shell, Galp, Spain's Repsol and Equinor also use the 1.2mn b/d oil terminal operated by Acu Petroleo, a joint venture between German's Oiltanking and EIG-backed Prumo, for STS operations.

Petrobras plans to bring 15 offshore platforms with around 2.425mn b/d of production capacity on stream through 2026. The firm produced around 2.27mn b/d in the third quarter and dispatched 604,000 b/d of crude mainly to China, India, the EU and the US.

By Nathan Walters