Production in the Peregrino field in Brazil resumed on 16 July, aiming to ramp up production and reduce emissions intensity.

Peregrino production was suspended in April 2020. Since then, Equinor has executed a major programme of maintenance, upgrades and repairs on the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and has installed a new platform, Peregrino C.

Together, these investments have allowed production to safely restart, to increase the overall capacity of the field and to improve the carbon emissions intensity.

“Our top priority is the safety of our people and our operations. The investments in technology, new equipment and maintenance have allowed us to safely resume production at Peregrino and to prepare for the start-up of the new Peregrino Phase 2 project,” says Veronica Coelho, Equinor’s country manager in Brazil.

Peregrino is the largest field operated by Equinor outside of Norway and the first of a series of major field developments in Brazil. Remaining reserves from Peregrino Phase I are estimated at 180 million barrels.

In parallel with the maintenance and upgrades on the FPSO, a third wellhead platform, Peregrino C, was installed and is progressing towards the start of production, with the first oil expected in the third quarter 2022.

The new platform is part of the Peregrino Phase II project which will extend the lifetime and value of the field and add 250-300 million barrels.

“I am proud of how hard our teams have worked, throughout the Covid pandemic, in order to bring the Peregrino field back on stream and upgrade the facilities.More than 1,200 people have been working together offshore over the last months,” adds Veronica Coelho.

In line with Equinor’s low carbon strategy, major investments have been made to reduce CO₂ emissions from the Peregrino field. When in operation, Phase II will lower absolute emissions in Peregrino field by 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

This will be achieved by deploying digital solutions to optimize energy consumption, in addition to gas-powered power turbines to drastically reduce and replace diesel consumption. Located in Campos basin, Peregrino field started production in 2011. Equinor is the operator (60%), with Sinochem (40%) as partner in the field. Peregrino Phase I consists of a FPSO unit, supported by two well head platforms – Peregrino A and Peregrino B. Peregrino II consists of a well head platform – Peregrino C – and related facilities.