CESAR Advances Digital Twin Technology for Brazil’s Pre-Salt Oil Infrastructure
CESAR Advances Digital Twin Technology for Brazil’s Pre-Salt Oil Infrastructure
Synopsis
- CESAR is accelerating digital twin deployment for Petrobras to monitor flexible risers and subsea infrastructure.
- The award-winning initiative enhances safety, extends equipment lifespan, and delivers measurable cost savings.
- Brazil’s emerging digital twin standards and industry investment are unlocking large-scale adoption across energy and infrastructure sectors.
Estimated reading time: 3 mins read
Brazil’s Center for Advanced Studies and Systems of Recife (CESAR), one of the country’s largest technology and research institutions, is intensifying its development of digital twin systems for the oil and gas industry through a pioneering collaboration with Petrobras, according to reporting by BNamericas. The initiative represents a significant advance in applying virtual replicas to monitor and optimize critical subsea infrastructure in Brazil’s pre-salt energy reserves.
The project, developed jointly with COPPE at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ) and Petrobras, is structured in multiple implementation phases focusing on structural integrity and carbon dioxide corrosion monitoring. It specifically targets flexible risers—specialized pipelines that connect subsea wells to floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs). These risers play a central role in offshore oil extraction, and maintaining their reliability is essential for safe and efficient operations.
The program began five years ago and has since evolved into a recognized high-technology solution for subsea equipment monitoring and lifecycle management. CESAR engineering director Beto Macedo explained to BNamericas that the project has received major industry recognition, including the ASME Global Pipeline Award 2025, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Awards, and Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency (ANP) Award.
By mid-2025, the digital twin system had already been deployed across 40 Petrobras risers, with further expansion planned. The initiative is supported by Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, which is working with CESAR and Petrobras on the development of a new generation of flexible risers over a three- to four-year timeline. According to Macedo, the goal is to create digital replicas that precisely mirror physical pipelines in the field, enabling exact modeling and predictive capabilities aligned with real-world performance.
Digital twin technology allows engineers to collect detailed operational data, perform predictive analysis, and improve safety oversight. Macedo emphasized that operational safety remains a priority in offshore environments, where equipment failures can carry severe environmental and financial consequences. The system enables more precise monitoring of riser performance while supporting proactive maintenance strategies.
While the intellectual property developed under the initiative belongs to Petrobras, Macedo said the underlying digital twin framework could be applied by other operators in Brazil’s pre-salt fields. However, commercialization of the existing Petrobras-specific solution is restricted. Instead, customized digital twin systems can be developed for other companies based on their specific operational requirements.
The scale of CESAR’s involvement with Petrobras underscores the growing importance of digital twins in offshore energy management. According to Macedo, CESAR is currently engaged in approximately 30 simultaneous projects involving Petrobras alone, supported by 220 researchers dedicated to advancing digital twin applications and related technologies.
The financial impact of these systems has been substantial. Macedo stated that digital twins have delivered measurable efficiency improvements and cost reductions, including extending the operational lifespan of flexible risers by margins valued in the billions of dollars. These gains reflect the technology’s ability to optimize asset utilization while minimizing downtime and unexpected failures.
CESAR, founded in 1996, reported total revenue of 435 million reais (US$83.1mn) in 2025, representing a 20% increase compared with the previous year. Approximately 60 million reais of that total came from projects in the United States, although those engagements were primarily outside the oil and gas sector. CESAR is now actively seeking to expand its presence in the U.S. energy market as part of its international growth strategy.
The organization employs more than 1,500 professionals across Brazil and overseas operations and delivers an average of 130 complex technology projects annually. Beyond its direct research work, CESAR has also played a significant role in Brazil’s startup ecosystem. With 14 permanent startups in its current portfolio, the center has supported the development of more than 1,700 startups over recent years.
Digital twin systems operate by combining real-time data collection, predictive analytics, and simulation capabilities. A complete digital twin can not only monitor physical assets but also send commands back to them. However, in the oil and gas sector, full automation remains limited. According to Macedo, human oversight remains essential because operational decisions involving physical infrastructure require careful risk evaluation before remote control actions are executed.
Major energy companies including Petrobras, Prio, Ocyan, Shell, Total, CNOOC, Repsol, and Sinopec have invested heavily in integrated digital twin solutions to improve asset analysis and operational efficiency. These investments reflect the broader industry trend toward adopting advanced digital tools to manage increasingly complex offshore environments.
Other sectors are also beginning to adopt digital twins, although progress varies. In the electric power sector, Macedo noted that adoption has been slower due to the long operational lifespans of infrastructure assets, which can remain in service for decades before being replaced with newer equipment capable of supporting advanced digital integration.
In contrast, the oil and gas sector—particularly Brazil’s pre-salt reserves—has been a major driver of digital twin innovation. The technical challenges associated with deepwater extraction have accelerated the development of specialized hardware and software solutions designed to support more efficient and reliable operations.
Brazil has also taken steps to strengthen the regulatory and technical foundations for digital twin adoption. The country recently introduced a formal standard developed through collaboration between the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) and the Brazilian IoT Association (ABINC). The framework is designed to ensure interoperability between systems, allowing different technologies and industrial platforms to communicate effectively.
Macedo explained that interoperability remains one of the biggest barriers to implementing digital twins. Industrial environments often rely on multiple systems that use different protocols, making integration complex. Standardization helps address these challenges by enabling systems to exchange data more efficiently and reducing technical barriers.
The new standards also aim to reduce ambiguity in contracts and project specifications, creating clearer guidelines for implementation. This regulatory clarity is expected to support increased investment and accelerate digital twin adoption across sectors including manufacturing, infrastructure, and smart city development.
The global digital twin market is projected to reach approximately US$110 billion by 2028, according to estimates referenced in the BNamericas report. Industry experts believe that standardization, technological maturity, and growing enterprise readiness will play a critical role in unlocking this potential, particularly in emerging digital twin markets such as Brazil.
Source: BNamericas – Have a Story? Address it to the Editor and submit it here
About CESAR
The Center for Advanced Studies and Systems of Recife (CESAR) is one of Brazil’s leading research, development, and innovation institutions, specializing in advanced digital technologies, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and industrial transformation. Founded in 1996, CESAR has grown into a major technology hub with more than 1,500 employees operating across Brazil and international markets. The organization delivers approximately 130 high-complexity projects each year across sectors including energy, finance, telecommunications, and manufacturing. CESAR reported revenue of 435 million reais in 2025, reflecting strong growth driven by demand for digital innovation. Beyond enterprise technology development, CESAR plays a significant role in startup incubation and ecosystem development. With 14 permanent startups currently in its portfolio, CESAR has supported the creation and growth of more than 1,700 startups, helping strengthen Brazil’s broader innovation landscape and global competitiveness in emerging technologies such as digital twins and artificial intelligence.
Featured image Source: Linkedin
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