Monetization of Natural Gas is One of the Challenges in the New Market

Companies in the sector seek the best alternative to develop reserves and make the gas market in Brazil more competitive

The challenges for the monetization of natural gas in the face of the growing demand in the country were extensively discussed on the first day of OTC Brazil in the panel “Challenges to monetize Natural Gas from High GOR Offshore Fields.” Representatives from Petrobras, Equinor, and Repsol Sinopec, involved in major natural gas projects in development in the Brazilian pre-salt, discussed strategies to make what important segments of society seek possible: increasing the supply of the input to further boost the New Gas Market.

Bruno Moczydlower, executive reservoir manager at Petrobras, stated that the company is committed to increasing gas production for the Brazilian market and emphasized that, starting next year, the Rota 3 project, developed to increase the natural gas flow from the pre-salt of the Santos Basin, will already be operational. In 2028, two other high-capacity flow projects, the Sergipe Deep Waters Project (SEAP) and the Raia Project, through the BM-C-33 consortium, are also expected to be operational. Together, the three projects will be able to deliver more than 50 million cubic meters per day of capacity.

Thiago Penna, director of the Raia Project at Equinor, which is in development and has the capacity to flow approximately 16 million cubic meters per day, believes that the challenges of natural gas production can be overcome through innovation and efficiency in reducing carbon emissions. “Our projects need to be financially robust and in terms of carbon emissions. In this sense, we attribute various innovations. We will have one of the most efficient and innovative FPSOs in the world.”

Andres Sannazzaro, manager of gas marketing and public relations at Repsol Sinopec Brazil, emphasized the need for predictability for long-term decision-making and stressed that among the alternatives to monetize gas are production itself, the distance from the consumer market, and the presence or absence of associated gas.

New challenges in the Pre-salt

Another challenge that the national oil industry has to face is related to the Brazilian pre-salt. Companies and suppliers have been seeking to develop new technologies to achieve more efficient production. Due to the complexity of the geological environment, the use of more advanced innovations plays a fundamental role in production in the region.

According to Raimon Alfaro, Research & Development Leader in Geophysics at TotalEnergies, geophysical technologies are essential to unlock the potential of the pre-salt. Alex Martinez, Senior Geophysicist at ExxonMobil, added the need for technology development for each specific environment.

Jorge Luis Lopez, from Shell, stated that new seismic technologies are a bet for the company to mitigate risks for reservoir recovery.

Diego Garcia, from Petrobras, highlighted the company’s strategy in operating the Mero field, whose development plan involves the implementation of four FPSOs that will be operational by 2025 and will produce, together, 180,000 barrels per day, increasing the recovery factor of the field between 1% and 3%.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

How to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the energy sector, which values safety in its operations and still operates according to traditional project models? What is the future of work in the sector? These were the main questions addressed in the iUP Technical Sessions panels on the first day of OTC 2023.

Cleusa Araújo, Energy Transition Manager at Shell, emphasized the importance of the ESG agenda to drive innovation. “It is a trend that drives all our actions.” Mariana Kobayashi, from Total Energies, highlighted that one of the biggest challenges in innovating in the industry is safety. For Matteo Cervelli, Innovation Manager at Vibra, innovation must be linked to the business strategy. “It’s no use inventing something that doesn’t meet the needs of those who pay the bill.” Ricardo Yogui, from PUC-RJ, warned that “133 million new jobs will be generated from technology and innovation, but others will disappear in the coming years.”

Executive Dialogues

In the Executive Dialogues table, Roberto Ardenghy, president of IBP, received Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore, who highlighted the importance of society understanding how essential energy is to people’s lives. “With this understanding, it will be possible to advance with the energy transition at the appropriate pace, maintaining security.” According to Chabas, the company plans to reduce its emissions by around 30% in the coming years. “Carbon capture is one of our biggest bets. The scenario the world will have in 10 years will depend mainly on new technologies.”

Roberto Ardenghy also received Yann Cottart, vice president of Subsea7 Brazil. The executive shared that sustainability is one of the company’s main values, and they are working to further improve their operations. “We are committed to reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2045, implementing changes and solutions available today and introducing new, cleaner technologies as they become commercially available in the market,” said Cottart.

The OTC Brazil continues until this Thursday (26), in Rio de Janeiro. The 2023 edition is sponsored by Petrobras as the master sponsor; Shell and TotalEnergies as platinum sponsors; Ambipar, BP, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Prio, and RepsolSinopec Brasil as gold sponsors; Enauta, Porto do Açu, and TechnipFMC as silver sponsors; Corio Generation, Perbras, SBM Offshore, Tenaris, Tivit, Quorum Software, and OceanPact as bronze sponsors; Radix, ASME, TESS, GE, Huisman, Innovation Norway, PPSA, Bratecc, Shape, and Wams as sponsors of the Decarbonization & Technology Arena; United Airlines as the official airline partner; AMBIFY as the official carbon offsetting partner; ApexBrasil as the International Business partner; Blumar as the official travel agency; B&T as the official exchange broker; and partners such as Abimaq, Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce, RedePetro ES, SPE UNIFEI, and Norwegian Energy Partners. In addition, the event also has the support of the Federal Government.