(Chron.com, Jordan Blum, 12.Jun.2019) — The Libra Consortium led by Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell and Total said they’ve authorized construction of the multibillion-dollar Mero 2 project offshore of Brazil.
The authorization shows the international offshore sector is continuing a slow but steady rebound worldwide.
The new development involves building a massive new floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, called an FPSO, to be deployed at the Mero field offshore of Brazil.
The FPSO will process up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day once it’s up and running in 2022. The first Mero development is already under construction and slated for completion in 2021. The consortium plans for at least two more production systems in the potentially prolific Mero field.
“Shell is the largest foreign producer in Brazil, which has become a heartland for us,” said Andy Brown, Shell’s upstream director.
Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras holds a 40 percent interest in the project while Shell and the French energy major Total each have 20 percent stakes. The remain 20 percent is held by the Chinese firms the China National Petroleum Corp. and the China National Offshore Oil Corp., called CNPC and CNOOC, respectively.
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