Petrobras starts Marlim Leste oil production test

RIO DE JANEIRO Feb 8 (Reuters) - Brazil's state oil company Petrobras said on Friday it started a long-term production test at the offshore Marlim Leste field, where it plans to install two big platforms later this year.

The floating production storage and offloading unit Seillean will produce up to 20,000 barrels per day and collect oil flow and geological information at the Jabuti reserve for the second module of Marlim Sul, which Petrobras expects to put onstream in December this year in the Campos basin.

The permanent production unit FPSO Cidade de Niteroi would pump 100,000 bpd.

Petrobras said it was important to monitor the reserve first to reduce the risk for the final project as the carbonate rock geological oil-containing cluster in deep waters of the Campos basin is little explored.

The first module of Marlim Sul is scheduled to go online earlier in the second half of this year when the 180,000 bpd P-53 platform will be installed there.

Apart from the two Marlim Leste units, Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N) hopes to crank up the 180,000 bpd P-51 platform on Marlim Sul field by mid-2008. The company seeks to boost average output this year to 2 million bpd from last year's 1.79 million bpd. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Editing by David Gregorio)