Petrobras and its partners in the BM-S-9 consortium have begun producing oil and gas in the Lapa Field through the FPSO Cidade de Caraguatatuba vessel, the company said in a news release Dec. 20.

Located in the Santos Basin at a water depth of 2,140 m (7,021 ft), the field marks the third field in the pre-salt layer to begin operations this year, Petrobras said. It follows Lula and Sapinhoá.

The FPSO vessel, which is connected to the field by production well 7-LPA-1D, has the capacity to process 100,000 barrels of oil per day and compress 5 million cubic meters of gas, Petrobras said.

Petrobras operates the field with partners BG E&P Brasil, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, 30% interest; and Repsol Sinopec Brasil, 25% interest.