SES’s O3b mPOWER satellite network to connect seven new Petrobras FPSOs

SES will provide 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 projects will go into operation 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 and efficient oil production platforms, responsible for processing, collecting, storing, and transferring oil to shuttle tankers, directly from subsea wells in deepwater fields. FPSOs offer the flexibility, capacity, and operational resilience needed to sustain large-scale offshore production in remote and challenging environments. Brazil is home to the majority of the offshore projects under development worldwide, and Petrobras is one of the largest FPSO operators on the planet, 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 ideal for the energy market use cases like FPSO connectivity. Unique O3b mPOWER features such as high return (upload) throughputs and the ability to shift capacity between upload and download links provide the reliability, resilience and flexibility required to support evolving application needs and the massive amount of data generated by FPSO operations.

The demand for high-capacity connectivity in Brazil’s energy sector continues to grow as the industry’s digitalization advances. The ability to transform real-time information into faster and smarter decisions, resulting in substantial efficiency gains, is a crucial factor for the offshore oil and gas industry.

Ricardo La Guardia, Vice President Latin America of 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 optimize 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.”