A fresh find has been made by Petrobras in the Carioca discovery evaluation area in the ultra-deepwater Santos Basin.

The Brazilian major confirmed the presence of oil in well 3-SPS-101 (3- BRSA-1179-SPS) in the Carioca evaluation plan area, located in pre- salt block BM-S-9. The well, informally referred to by the company as Iguaçu Mirim, is located 303 km off the coast of the state of São Paulo, and 34 km south of the discovery well (1-SPS-50 - Carioca). It is also just 9 km south of the Iguaçu well (4- BRSA-709-SPS), and lies in a water depth of 2,158 m (7,080 ft).

The new discovery was confirmed with oil samples taken of approximately 20° API, taken via wireline test from pre-salt carbonate reservoirs starting at a depth of 4,850 m (15,913 ft).

The consortium of BM-S-9 is operated by Petrobras (45%) in partnership with BG E&P Brasil (30%) and Repsol Sinopec Brasil (25%). The deadline for the Declaration of Commerciality is 31 December, 2013.

l In nearby block BM-S-11, Petrobras last month said an exploration probe on the deepwater Iara field in the pre-salt Santos Basin had confirmed excellent productivity from the reservoirs (see DI, 1 August 2013, page 4). The Iara West-2 well was the fourth probe in the Iara area, and strengthened the potential of recoverable light oil. The operator is currently drilling well 3-RJS-715D (3-BRSA-1181D-RJS, also called Iara High Angle) in the center of the evaluation plan area of Iara. Its partners in BM-S-11 are BG E&P Brasil (25%) and Petrogal Brasil (Galp Energia, 10%).