Perenco plans 80 km shore-power link for Brazil’s Pargo and Cherne fields

Perenco Brasil and Porto do Açu have signed a letter of intent to develop a shore-power connection for the operator’s Pargo and Cherne shallow-water clusters in Brazil’s Campos Basin. Offshore Energy reports that the proposed electrification scheme would replace platform-based turbogenerators with electricity from the onshore grid, with operations expected to begin in the first quarter of 2028.

The project envisages an 80-kilometre subsea cable between the port complex in São João da Barra, Rio de Janeiro, and the offshore fields. Initial electricity demand is forecast at 35 MW, with potential to increase to 60 MW. The report describes the scheme as the first offshore platform electrification project planned for the Campos Basin.

Porto do Açu will make land available for Perenco’s onshore grid connection and provide the cable’s right-of-way. Perenco will build a substation within the port complex to receive grid electricity. Offshore, the cable will connect to the Pargo cluster’s central platform, from which power will be distributed to satellite units using the existing interconnection network.

The agreement’s principal aim is to cut Scope 1 emissions from Perenco’s Brazilian operations by replacing electricity generated on the platforms. Once the system is operating, the company could also procure renewable electricity through the open market, according to Offshore Energy. That remains an option rather than a confirmed power purchase arrangement.

Perenco Brasil general manager Damien Szyszka presented the project as a way to secure energy supplies while prolonging the assets’ productive lives and lowering emissions. Porto do Açu chief executive Eugenio Figueiredo said offshore electrification schemes on this scale remained uncommon globally and highlighted their potential in Brazil.

The development would add to existing shore-power activity at the port. Since 2024, Vast Infraestrutura and Wilson Sons have supplied electricity from shore to tugboats and support vessels alongside Terminal 1 at Porto do Açu, Offshore Energy reported.