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Estimated Reserves: The Búzios field is estimated to contain approximately 13 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in recoverable reserves, making it one of the largest offshore fields globally.
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Transfer of Rights Agreement: In 2010, Petrobras secured rights to explore and produce up to 3.058 billion boe under the original Transfer of Rights agreement, which represents about 26% of the total reserves. In 2019, Petrobras, along with partners CNOOC and CNPC, won rights to produce surplus volumes beyond this, estimated to be significantly larger, potentially doubling the initial contracted volume.
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Geological Context: The field’s reserves are in pre-salt carbonate reservoirs, characterized by high porosity, permeability, and extraordinary productivity rates, with some wells like BUZ-10 reaching 63,000 barrels per day (bpd). The reservoir’s thickness is comparable to Sugarloaf Mountain, and its area is more than twice the size of Guanabara Bay.
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Current Production: As of February 2025, Búzios produces 800,000 barrels of oil per day, with plans to reach 1 million bpd soon and 2 million bpd by 2030, supported by additional Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units.
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Cumulative Production: By March 2024, the field had produced 1 billion barrels of oil, with an earlier milestone of 1 billion boe (including gas) in June 2023.
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The exact reserve figure varies across sources due to differences in estimation methods and whether gas is included (boe vs. oil-only). The 13 billion boe figure from Enverus is a commonly cited estimate for total recoverable reserves.
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The field’s potential continues to grow, with recent discoveries (e.g., well 9-BUZ-99D-RJS in 2025) confirming additional oil accumulations below the main reservoir.
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If you’re specifically asking about a “Búzios 11” subfield or well, it might refer to a specific block or drilling site within the Búzios complex (e.g., part of block BM-S-11). However, no source explicitly isolates reserves for a “Búzios 11” distinct from the broader Búzios field.
Offshore engineering and services player Subsea 7 has won a contract from oil and gas giant Petrobras to develop the Búzios 11 field located in the Santos basin, some 180 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
The Buzios field began operating in 2018. It is only second to the Tupi field in terms of production volume and reserves in Brazil. The field is operated by Petrobras, with CNOOC and CNPC as its partners. Pré-Sal Petróleo is the field manager. The development concept includes 11 platforms or FPSOs.
The contract, won through a competitive tender, includes engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and pre-commissioning of 112 km-long rigid risers and flowlines at 2,000 m water depth.
Project management and engineering will start immediately at Subsea 7’s offices in Rio de Janeiro, Suresnes, and Sutton, while the fabrication of the pipelines will take place at the company’s spoolbase in Brazil. Offshore activities are scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
Subsea 7 described the deal as a super-major contract, which means that it is larger than $1.25bn. According to Brazilian media, the Norwegian company submitted an offer of R$8.45bn ($1.4bn) in the tender, outbidding Allseas, TechnipFMC, and a partnership between Mota-Engil and McDermott.
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