The Carcará discovery was announced March 20, 2012, as a presalt wildcat. Drilling so far has indicated an oil column of more than 400 m (1,312 ft).

Further drilling of well 4-SPS-86B (4-BRSA-971-SPS), which is testing Petrobras’ Carcará prospect in Block BM-S-8, has proven that the prospect contains good-quality oil of about 31°API, according to Petrobras.

Tests also have shown the carbonate reservoir has excellent porosity and permeability.

The prospect is in the ultra-deep waters of the Santos basin in the presalt province. It lies 232 km (141 miles) off the coast of the state of São Paulo in 2,027 m (6,650 ft) water depth. The zone being drilled is at a depth of 6,213 m (20,385 ft) attempting to determine the total thickness of the reservoirs as well as the presence of deeper zones of interest. Drilling so far has indicated an oil column of more than 400 m (1,312 ft).

The Carcará discovery was announced March 20, 2012, as a presalt wildcat. It was drilled by a consortium including Petrobras (66%), Petrogal Brasil (14%), and Barra Energia do Brasil Petróleo e Gás and Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção (10% each). The Sevan Driller is being used to find the lower limit of the reservoir.

According to Galp Energia, parent company of Petrogal Brasil, the partners are expected to use a floating hub production facility centered on the Bem-te-vi discovery to develop discoveries in the area. The Wall Street Journal reports that Brazil officials estimate the presalt discoveries will potentially hold as much as 100 Bbbl of oil. Petrobras plans to spend US $224.7 billion through 2015 to develop its presalt acreage, the paper reported.

Contact the author, Rhonda Duey, at rduey@hartenergy.com.