[No text]Even with the continued increase foreign O&G service companies opening shop in Brazil, local companies also begin to offer more specialized services that once had to be imported. In some instances, even competing very favorably with international companies, well established in the industry. OilFinder is one of these local companies and it offers services such as remote sensing and computational modeling solutions for Exploration and Production of O&G and also solutions for emergency situations in case of oil spills. OilFinder has already made an impact with its Inverse Modeling services, reportedly an exclusive and innovative technology that estimates the origin of oil seeps on the seafloor. It was mainly developed for deepwater exploration and it estimates the pathway of the oil back in time. In other words, as they explained internet site, the trajectory of oil between the position it was detected and its origin at seafloor. Most oil seeps identified on the sea surface in deep water regions with complex circulation are tens of kilometers from their origins at seafloor. The inverse modeling provides more correct and precise information, according to OilFinder it is demonstrating to be the most suitable technology for both oil spill mapping and for identifying oil reserves in unexplored areas . The Brazilian company performed a mapping of the seep areas along the whole Equatorial margin of Brazil for the ANP 11th Bid Round, identifying 10 areas of seeps in the seafloor obtained from inverse modeling of more than 100 oil slicks detected on sea surface by satellite and classified as natural flows. The Mapping of the Campos, Santos and Espirito Santo Basins has already been completed and OilFinder has been analyzing data from the Brazilian northeast coast, including the Sergipe-Alagoas, Camamu-Alamada and Jequitinhonha Basins. According to OilFinder, they are able, through Inverse Modelling, to identify areas in the sea floor where active petroleum systems leak, known as seeps. The oil seeps indicate not only the presence of source rocks in the area, but also the occurrence of the geologic processes of thermal maturation and migration of the generated hydrocarbons. Having the precise location of identified seeps would definitely be invaluable information for operators looking at identifying new petroleum systems, in areas still unexplored. OilFinder´s partnership with UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), through its COPPE organization, which oversees graduate programs and technological research, is an important factor in ascertaining that OilFinder will be able to continuously develop its products. The analysis the results obtained at each different Brazilian Basin should also bring important information of analysis of deepwater locations in the rest of the south eastern coast of South America and for WA Basins.

Researchers from Coppe/UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) will use data from AUVs,UUVs, floating sensors and satellites in a novel monitoring system, which scientists believe will decrease the time needed in order to identify oil spills. Other than the important aspect of quickly identifying oil spills in the pre-salt, scientists will gain greater knowledge about this little explored region, which is already considered to be the new frontier in the Brazilian O&G industry.

 

The project is named “Projeto Azul” or Blue Project and calls for a US$10 million investment, which will be footed by BG Brasil. The Project was launched and the investment agreement signed last week during the RIO + 20 event.

 

The Seaglider UUVs(unmanned underwatrer vehicle) will be launched yet this year and the monitoring parameters range from the surface down to 2,000 meters. The agreement for the project runs for at least three years, but due to the strategic importance of this in depth monitoring, it is expected that eventually it will be changed into a continuous monitoring system to span the next decades. The UUV, which some say looks like a fish, send real-time data of surface temperature, temperature along the water column, salinity along the water column, oxygen dissolved in the water, chlorophyll, organic matter and current direction. 4 Seagliders will be launched by the researchers pre-determined routes already imputed into their memory banks. The AUV will continuously send data during 6 months when it will then be pulled up for maintenance.

 

Other than the Seaglider, 3 surface buoys will be placed in the sea each month, adding up to 108 derivatives in the 3 years slated for the project. There will also be 36 bottom profilers used, 1 each month, capable of being placed at up to 2,000 meters deep. Researchers will also have access to data from 2 different satellites, one in a polar orbit and another in a geostationary orbit. The satellites will be capable of sending data for surface temperature, sea elevation, color of the water, among other data. Some of this data will be compiled to try to understand aspects related to climate change, impacts of El Nino and La Nina. Another important aspect that the data may help clarify is related to the resurgence of frigid deep water currents from the Mid-Atlantic, which comes to the surface of the northeaster coast of Rio de Janeiro, between Saquarema and Cabo Frio and of which very little is currently know.

 

Claudio Paschoa

 

This month the first serious experiment with wave energy officially begins in Brazil. The first wave energy plant in the country was installed in the northeast state of Ceará, more specifically in the port of Pecém, located 60km from the state capital Fortaleza and will be officially launched during the Rio+20 taking place in Rio de Janeiro.

 

With the Brazilian coastline being 8,000km long, scientists from COPPE/UFRJ, estimate that with wave energy plants up and down the coast the country could produce up to 87 gigawatts of which 20% could conceivably be converted in electricity, this would add up to 17% of the country´s total installed electrical energy capacity.

 

At this point though, concepts are still being tested in order to prove the viability and reliability of the project, which is financed by Eletrobrás, CNPq (Science and Technology Development Counsil) and Tracbel Engineering (through the Research and Development Program of the National Electrical Energy Agency) and also with support of the government of the state of Ceará.

 

The project calls for the construction of 20 modules, with a capacity of generating 500 KW. In this first stage two modules of the wave energy plant have already been installed. The two modules are composed of large mechanical arms. At the tip of each arm, there is a float in contact with the sea. As waves hit the floats, the structure (mechanical arms and floats) rise and lower. The continuous movement of the floats and arms activate hydraulic pumps, which propels sweet water enclosed in a closed circuit (with no contact with the environment), to circulate in a high pressure environment.

 

This sweet water under pressure goes to an accumulator, which in turn has water and air compressed in a hyperbaric chamber (which is the main component of the system). From the Hyperbaric chamber an extremely narrow conductor (like a venture channel), makes the water reach high pressures, which is then expelled in a water jet equivalent to a 500 meter waterfall similar to a big hydroelectric dam. This water jet moves a hydraulic turbine, which is connected to a generator, which in turn produces electric energy.

 

The project was first conceived by scientists at the COPPE wave lab at the UFRJ technology park in Rio de Janeiro. Around US$7,5 million have already been invested in the project during the last four years.

 

Claudio Paschoa

 

 

An interesting article by the leading Brazilian newspaper O Globo, signed by Journalist Marcio Beck, brings to light the need to urgently create a database with information on the “DNA” of oil produced in Brazilian fields. According to researchers from the Academia and from the O&G industry, this is essential in order to speed up the identification of those responsible for any given oil spill.

According to the article, the basic characteristics found in the formation of an oil reservoir, such as types of stones, sediments and organic matter along with time, temperature and pressure conditions, which give a distinct DNA to each different oil reservoir. Therefore, it would be possible to identify from which field any given oil sample originated from. This would expedite identifying which operator is responsible for a spill in order to quicken response to spills and clean up of affected areas.

This would also help end the mystery pertaining to the so called “orphan” oil slicks (those oil slicks that cannot have their origins immediately identified). A good example is the Chevron oil spill in the Frade field at the Campos Basin, in November 2011, which was originally considered an orphan spill, when first identified by Petrobras between the Frade and Roncador fields. Only 2 days after the beginning of the spill, on November 9,did Chevron officially communicate its responsibility for the spill and initiate security and containment measures.

Another good example of how this database could be used is the fact that Chevron claims that the oil that is still seeping through the crack in the rocks under the seabed are not from the same well as the oil from the spill in November. This claim is based on the fact that samples of this oil were analyzed by Ipex, a laboratory belonging to Brazilian independent operator HRT Oil & Gas and revised by Chevron technicians, attests to the fact that the origins of the oil samples differ. The operator does not divulge the exact test results or the oil “DNA” as this is considered classified information.

With such a dynamic growth as the Brazilian O&G industry is experiencing and with the knowledge that this growth will continue for another decade at least, signifying hundreds of new wells to be drilled and put in production, where the oil will go upstream to refineries by way of thousands of miles of pipelines and hundreds of tankers, it may become extremely difficult to identify a spill´s source without a comprehensive independent oil identification database.

It is probable that any such independent oil analysis laboratory would be headed by Coppe-UFRJ as they are the leading academic institution in Brazil, when it comes to oil and gas research. According to Luiz Landau, a leading engineer at Coppe-UFRJ and coordinator of its Laboratory of Computational Engineering Methods (Lamce) at Coppe-UFRJ, the Brazilian database should be centralized and contain the chemical signature of the oil in each well in Brazil. “The companies (operators) have databases because it is interesting commercially.” There is also the strategic value in being able to compare different kinds of oil.

Claudio Paschoa

Siemens has recently announced that it plans to invest around $150 million in Brazil, of this sum $50 million alone will be invested in a new technology in Rio de Janeiro. The new technology research center will be located within the UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) technology park at Fundão Island, where Siemens plans to concentrate all of its research and development activities.

The UFRJ Technology Park is already a hub for research centers related to the O&G industry, harboring research centers belonging to the Brazilian national operator Petrobras and also to major O&G industry service providers such as Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton.

According to Siemens executives, the company is aiming at being closer to its energy industry clients and sees Brazil as the new frontier for energy business. In order to adapt to Brazilian laws, Siemens is already making a big effort to increase the national content in its manufacturing plants in Brazil, they also hope that the increase in national content will help them in securing orders for equipment to be used in the development of Brazil´s pre-salt fields.

The Siemens Technology Center will occupy an area of 4 thousand square meters and employ around 800 engineers and technicians. Although the center´s main target will be in developing offshore and subsea technology, it will also be dedicated to research in different forms of renewable energy and software development in cooperation with various UFRJ technology laboratories.

Two other international companies have also secured locations at the UFRJ Technology Park, which will now have its 350 thousand square meter area fully occupied. These companies are the British BG Group, specialized in segments of the O&G industry and U.S based EMC which specializes in information technology.

This shows how major international companies are certain that the O&G industry growth in Brazil is no fluke and that they expect this growth and development to go on for decades bringing Brazil into the mainstream O&G market as a top player. The amount of foreign investments pouring in to Brazil also hint at the belief these companies have that the Brazilian economy and government is stable enough to be considered as low risk venture  for companies involved it the energy and infrastructure segments.

 

Claudio Paschoa

Photo courtesy of Petrobras