BPCL’s Brazil project FID gets Petrobras green light, $2.8 bn investment planned

New Delhi: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) said on Thursday that Petrobras, the operator of the BM-SEAL-11 consortium in Brazil, has “approved the Final Investment Decision (FID)” for the SEAP-I project, a development that BPCL said is “another key milestone in the project.” A regulatory filing said the project covers oil and gas discoveries in the BM-SEAL-11 concession and that IBV Brasil Petróleo Ltda — in which BPCL, through Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL) and its step-down subsidiaries, holds a 65.40 percent stake — has a 40 percent participating interest in the block, alongside Petrobras’ 60 percent stake as operator.

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Project details

BPCL said a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, P-81 FPSO, is planned for SEAP-I, with capacity to produce 120,000 barrels of oil and condensate a day and process 10 million cubic metres of gas daily. It said signing of the FPSO contract is expected shortly, subject to approvals.

Petrobras, in a statement issued on April 13, said the signing of the contracts is expected in May 2026. “The signing of the contracts is scheduled for May 2026, after the governance stages are completed and approvals are obtained from the partners. This milestone accelerates the project execution phase,” said Petrobras. The Brazilian oil and gas major added that SBM Offshore will build the platforms for the SEAP project.

Why it matters

BPCL said the project “has the potential to provide access to equity oil” and help in strengthening “the energy security of the country.” Petrobras also said, “SEAP is strategic for expanding the availability of natural gas in the country, strengthening the national energy infrastructure, and opening a new production frontier in the Northeast region.”

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Investment load

BPCL said IBV’s total investment in the project is expected to be about USD 2.8 billion. Petrobras separately said the SEAP I and SEAP II projects together involve total investments of more than R$60 billion, with SEAP I expected to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil a day and process 10 million cubic metres of gas daily.

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