Baker Hughes Signs Deal with Petrobras for Integrated Completion Systems and Stress Corrosion Cracking Solutions

Oilfield services giant Baker Hughes has signed a deal with Brazilian oil and gas major Petrobras to provide fully integrated completion systems as well as an agreement for a definitive solution for stress corrosion cracking due to CO2 in flexible pipe systems.

The multi-year contract award for completion systems follows an open tender and will involve the use of a range of technologies specifically tailored to meet the needs of Petrobras’ offshore developments. Delivery will begin in late 2025.

The intelligent completions technologies, combined with conventional upper and lower completions solutions, will provide remote operations capabilities and multizone control, limiting water and gas breakthroughs and reducing the risk of any costly interventions.

Through this agreement, Petrobras will utilise Baker Hughes’ new SureCONTROL Premium interval control valve which provides enhanced reliability in the high flow rates of Petrobras’ offshore fields.

Petrobras will deploy several additional Baker Hughes completions technologies, such as SureSENS QPT Elite downhole gauges and the B-Annulus monitoring system, SureTREAT chemical injection system, Sur-Set flow control system, Orbit Premium barrier valves, a gas lift system, REACH subsurface safety valves, DeepShield subsurface safety valves, Premier packers, screens, and gravel pack system.

Earlier this week, the two companies signed an agreement that encompasses development and testing including a purchase option of the resulting next-generation flexible pipes, which will have an extended service life of 30 years in high-CO2 environments.

The collaborative effort between Baker Hughes and Petrobras will be primarily executed at Baker Hughes’ Rio de Janeiro Energy Technology Innovation Center and nearby flexible pipe systems manufacturing plant.

Stress corrosion cracking due to CO2 was identified in 2016 and can affect flexible pipes in pre-salt fields which have high concentrations of naturally occurring CO2.

This issue is particularly acute in Brazil’s pre-salt fields, where Petrobras is reinjecting CO2 from their production operations into wells to reduce flaring and enhance oil recovery.

Operators in high-CO2 environments have relied on solutions that mitigate the impact of this issue while limiting the service life of risers and flowlines. Baker Hughes’ flexible pipe systems and advanced monitoring technologies have proven effective at minimizing this impact, and the company is a major supplier of flexible pipe systems to Petrobras.