FPSOs are ship-shaped floating factories that extract, process, and store oil at sea before transferring it to shuttle tankers. Brazil operates the world's largest fleet of these vessels in the pre-salt fields, where water depths and distances from shore make fixed platforms impossible.
The Almirante Tamandaré FPSO, deployed in the Búzios field, is Brazil's largest oil platform at 182 meters tall — equivalent to five Christ the Redeemer statues. It produces 270,000 barrels per day and was decisive in Búzios reaching its 1 million barrel/day milestone.
Brazil's FPSO expertise is a complete industrial capability: hull conversion, topside integration, subsea connection, and remote operations. The country now designs, assembles, and operates these complex systems, having built the knowledge base over three decades of deepwater development.