Revitalization Project Promises New Production Plateaus for Campos Basin Fields
Authors: Carpenter Chris 
Published: January 2025

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This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper OTC 35457, “Marlim and Voador Fields Revitalization Project,” by Mateus T. Paula, Daniel H.M. Lage, and Aldemir B. dos Santos, Petrobras, et al. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2024 Offshore Technology Conference.

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The complete paper presents an overview of the operator’s Marlim and Voador fields revitalization project, highlighting achievements so far in the context of Campos Basin redevelopment. The project includes two mature fields discovered in the 1980s in the eastern portion of the Campos Basin. The main purpose of the revitalization is to renew production systems by means of decommissioning nine existing platforms and installing two new floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels.

Marlim and Voador Fields Overview

Fig. 1 depicts shallow and deepwater hubs in the Campos Basin. Marlim is offshore the state of Rio de Janeiro, approximately 150 km from the city of Macaé, with water depths ranging from 650 to 1050 m and covering an area of nearly 258 km2. Voador is northwest of Marlim, with water depths ranging from 400 to 700 m, covering an area of nearly 82 km2. Because Voador is a smaller complementary oil field located at the same Marlim Field ring fence, this revitalization project is commonly referred to as REVIT Marlim. Therefore, in this paper, the mention of REVIT Marlim also considers the Voador field.

Reservoir Characterization

The Marlim Field was discovered in January 1985 through Well 1-RJS-219A, drilled in a water depth of 853 m. Its primary objective was to test the Oligocene amplitude anomaly. The Oligocene reservoir was found to have a porous oil-bearing thickness of 55 m, a porosity of 32%, and connate water saturation of 11%. This reservoir, named Marlim Sandstone (ZP-MRL200-RJS219A), is the main reservoir in the Marlim field, with an average permeability of approximately 5000 md and oil ranging from 19 to 24 °API.

The Voador field was discovered in 1987 through Well 4-RJS-377, which revealed a total reservoir thickness of 39 m filled with oil. The drilling of Well 4-RJS-403 in 1989 confirmed the presence of a stratigraphically correlated reservoir with a thickness of 33 m like the one found in Well 4-RJS-377. These reservoirs have 21 °API oil, an average porosity of 30%, and an average permeability of 2000 md.

REVIT Marlim Primary Goals

With the launch of the first production system in 1992 and the last in 2000, the initially planned strategy for the fields was that the platforms should be able to produce until the end of the concession, which at that time was set to be 2025. Over the years of production, however, the basic sediment and water in the wells increased, leading to a corresponding rise in water production that required treatment on platforms. Additionally, environmental restrictions and a desire for increasingly environmentally conscious projects prompted the operator to consider adjustments to its plants. Added to the fact that existing units were already reaching the end of their useful life, with some equipment and operational control systems requiring more maintenance, this combination of factors resulted in an increase in operational costs.