Perenco starts breathing new life into mothballed Brazilian assets

September 19, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

The Brazilian subsidiary of Anglo-French oil and gas player Perenco has started the reactivation program for two assets offshore Brazil previously owned by the country’s state-owned giant, Petrobras.

FSO Pargo; Source: Julien Broucaret via LinkedIn

The two-year reactivation program for the Cherne and Bagre fields and two fixed platforms, PCH-1 and PCH-2, was designed to be executed in three linked stages, Perenco disclosed. The operator believes the reactivation will help unlock over 50 million stock tank barrels (mmstb) of reserves.

The tasks needed to achieve this will range from the replacement or renovation of turbines and the water treatment systems to the modernization of the metering systems and maintenance or replacement of the upper deck flowlines.

“The work to safely resume production from the dormant Cherne and Bagre Concessions has now begun,” said Damien Szyszka, General Manager of Perenco Brazil. “We are very pleased to be able to invest and build upon our footprint in Brazil, where production from the new fields combined with Pargo will be 35,000 barrels of oil per day.”

According to Perenco, the first step is aimed at preparing for production resumption. Entailing the full integrity revitalization of the PCH-1 and PCH-2 platforms, systems, and associated equipment, this stage is already underway.

The second phase will consist of installing a new 10” pipeline to connect PCH1 to the Pargo platform, set 27 kilometers apart, and from there to the FSO Pargo through the existing export line. A water injection line will ačso be installed between PCH1 and PCH2.

Finally, the third stage will focus on bringing 36 wells back onstream through well interventions and re-entries. The work will include 21 workover campaigns and a further evaluation effort for the best application of gas lift or ESP methods.

According to Perenco, the anticipated 2025-2027 CAPEX for the redevelopment plan for Cherne and Bagre will be around $250 million. The firm plans to achieve a mid-term production of 15,000 barrels of oil per day from the two concessions.

Previously owned by Petrobras, the assets were hibernated and then scheduled for decommissioning before being acquired by Perenco last month, a little over a year after the deal was originally announced.

Perenco acquires Petrobras’ hibernated assets, sets revival strategy

Business Developments & Projects

The Anglo-French company has had a busy September in other parts of the world as well. Earlier this week, it kicked off a decommissioning assignment at the Galahad platform in the North Sea.

Obana, a heavy lift jack-up vessel owned by Petrodec, created by merging two rigs and adding a newly built mid-ship section, was booked to get the job done.