Agradecimentos: The authors would like to thank the following entities for supporting this research: PETROBRAS, the Research Network SIGER, the Center for Petroleum Studies (CEPETRO) particularly UNISIM Research Group, the Department of Energy of the School of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Campinas, and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). We also thank the Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (CMG) and MathWorks for software licenses and technical support Ver menos

In this study, we consider robustness as a risk management method in the development of complex petroleum fields, complementing the well-known techniques of acquiring new information and adding flexibility to the production system. To create a robust production strategy we aim to reduce sensitivity to uncertainty. Our methodology is based on the analyzed performance of an optimized production strategy, covering all possible scenarios. We use technical and economic indicators to objectively identify and quantify refinements in this strategy to assure good performance across possible scenarios. We focus on the robust number and placement of wells, and robust platform processing capacities. We consider the robustness of net present value and of the recovery factor, computed using Multi-Attribute Utility Theory. We quahtify the risk through semi-deviation, instead of standard deviation, to focus on the downside volatility. Refining an optimized production strategy significantly improved the optimization process by increasing the expected value of each objective and, dramatically reduced the downside risk Ver menos