An offshore oil and gas project linked to Bharat Petroleum Corp. in Brazil has moved a key step closer to development after Petrobras approved the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the SEAP‑I Project this week.
The SEAP‑I Project involves the development of oil and gas discoveries in the BM‑SEAL‑11 concession, located in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin off the coast of Brazil. Petrobras, the state-owned oil major which operates the BM‑SEAL‑11 consortium, holds a 60% participating interest in the block.
IBV Brasil Petróleo Ltda. (IBV), in which BPCL holds an indirect majority stake, owns the remaining 40% participating interest in the concession. BPCL's stake in IBV stands at 65.40%, held through its wholly owned subsidiary Bharat PetroResources Ltd. and its step‑down subsidiaries.
As part of the SEAP‑I development, a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, named P‑81 FPSO, is planned to be deployed. The vessel is designed to produce around 120,000 barrels of oil or condensate per day and process up to 10 million cubic metres of natural gas daily. The signing of the P‑81 FPSO contract is expected shortly, subject to required regulatory and internal approvals, marking another major milestone for the project, according to a stock exchange filing.
"The project has the potential to provide access to equity oil which will help in strengthening the energy security of the country. IBV's total investment in the project is expected to be $2.8 billion," the filing said.
The project is expected to boost India's overseas upstream footprint while supporting BPCL's long‑term growth strategy in international oil and gas exploration and production.
Brazil is among the world's top ten oil producers.
Shares of BPCL settled 0.6% lower at Rs 308.55 on the BSE, after the announcement, compared to a 0.16% decline in the benchmark BSE Sensex.
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