SES's satellite network to connect seven new Petrobras FPSOs
SES, a space solutions company, is set to offer service on its high-capacity medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellite network, O3b mPower, to Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil company, to connect multiple new Floating Production, Storage and Offloading systems (FPSOs)
The project will begin operating in the coming years, expanding Petrobras’ oil and gas production capacity to meet national energy needs and contribute to global oil markets.
FPSOs are modern, efficient oil production platforms that process, collect, store, and transfer oil to shuttle tankers directly from subsea wells in deepwater fields. FPSOs provide the required flexibility, capacity, and operational resilience to sustain large-scale offshore production in remote and challenging environments.
Brazil is home to the majority of the offshore projects under development, and Petrobras is one of the largest FPSO operators worldwide, responsible for most of the country’s oil and gas production.
Operational since 2024, O3b mPower’s high-performance, carrier-grade, low-latency, open-standard MEO network is suitable for energy market use cases such as FPSO connectivity. O3b mPower has high return throughputs and the ability to shift capacity between upload and download links, providing the reliability, resilience, and flexibility needed to support evolving application needs and the data generated by FPSO operations.
The demand for high-capacity connectivity in Brazil’s energy sector continues to grow as the industry’s digitalisation advances. The ability to transform real-time information into faster, smarter decisions, resulting in substantial efficiency gains, is essential to the offshore oil and gas industry.
Ricardo La Guardia, vice president, Latin America, SES, said, “Since the start of service of our O3b mPOWER system, SES has become a key partner for our energy customers, customers with a focus on communications performance, resiliency, and consistency to optimise their operations and improve their efficiency. Brazil leads the world in new offshore projects. Petrobras' choice to power their new FPSOs with SES confirms O3b mPOWER MEO as the go-to platform for mission-critical energy operations.”