A third ultra-deepwater discovery in a frontier Brazilian basin has been confirmed by Petrobras, just 21 km (13 miles) southeast of the first find in the area.
The state-owned major said it had confirmed the presence of light hydrocarbons in block SEAL-M-426 in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin, part of concession BM-SEAL-11, which it operates with a 60% stake. Its partner is IBV Brasil with 40%.
Well 1-BRSA-1083-SES (1-SES-167), informally known as Farfan, is 21 km (13 miles) from the original Barra gas discovery and the latest find will add momentum to Petrobras’ emerging plans for an ultra-deep production hub in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin. The operator also revealed its 100%-owned Moita Bonita discovery in the adjacent BM-SEAL-10 block in August, some 35 km (22 miles) southwest of Barra.
The Farfan well was drilled in a water depth of 2,720 m (8,924 ft) and hit a hydrocarbon column of 44 m (144 ft), of which 40 m (131 ft) is formed by porous sandstones containing the light hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon column was found at a well depth of 5,582 m (18,315 ft). Petrobras will now drill the well to a planned total depth of 6,000 m (19,686 ft) and will analyze the rocks and fluids obtained with the aim of submitting an appraisal plan to the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP).
The nearby Barra discovery, well 1-BRSA-851-SES (1-SES-158), was the first significant gas find in the frontier basin. In August, Petrobras confirmed that an appraisal well on Barra – 3-BRSA-1069-SES (3-SES-165) – had also found oil. That extension well is located just 10 km (6 miles) northwest of the Farfan well, further improving the economics for a potential new hub.
The discovery of Farfan was confirmed by traces of oil detected during well drilling, electric log analysis and fluid samples collected from cable tests.
