SBM Offshore reported that oil production on FPSO Cidade de Anchieta has commenced and the unit is officially on hire, under the 18-year lease and operate contract with Petrobras.

The FPSO Cidade de Anchieta is designed for pre-salt production of the Baleia Azul, Jubarte and Pirambu fields in the area known as Parque das Baleias, off the coast of the state of Espírito Santo in the Campos Basin, Brazil.

The lease and operate contract was signed in December 2009, for a substantial upgrade of the FPSO and relocation to the nearby Baleia Azul field. The FPSO was disconnected and towed to Singapore for refurbishment and upgrade works on the topsides facilities in April 2011. The process facility was upgraded with new modules for gas treatment, water injection, gas turbine generators and flare drums to meet the new field production characteristics. On completion, the FPSO was towed back to Brazil in the summer of 2012.

The FPSO has the capacity to process 100,000 b/o and 3.5 MMcm of gas per day. The platform is installed at a water depth of 1,221 m (4,005 ft), 80 km off the coast.

The produced natural gas will be pumped through the Sul-Norte Capixaba pipeline to the natural gas treatment unit in Cacimbas on the coast of Espírito Santo.