Petrobras has hit more oil and gas in one of its ultra-deepwater blocks offshore Brazil in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin, firming up reserves destined for production via at least one planned new FPSO facility.

The operator has informed the industry regulator ANP (National Petroleum Agency) that well 3-BRSA1194SES detected oil and gas in the Seal-M-499 block. The well was drilled in a water depth of 2,800 m (9,186 ft). Petrobras has had some serious success already in this emerging frontier area, with previous finds revealed in the BM-SEAL-4, BM-SEAL-10 and BM-SEAL-11 blocks since 2010.

A total of 16 exploration wells have now been drilled in these three areas, with 13 of them having hit hydrocarbons.
At the recent OTC Brasil event in Rio, Petrobras’ chief executive, Maria das Graças Foster, said the company had made a “beautiful” oil discovery off the northeast coast that should produce an expected minimum of 100,000 b/d starting in 2018. She went on to describe the Sergipe-Alagoas basin as an important new oil province for Brazil, with recoverable reserves already estimated at several billion barrels of oil and gas.

The SEAL-11 block is 60%-owned by Petrobras, with its 40% partner being IBV Brasil, a 50-50 joint venture between India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Videocon Industries Ltd.

In addition to light oil, the region has important quantities of gas, said Foster at the time. The two most high-profile finds made in the region, Farfan and Muriú, are already being lined up for development via at least one Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, although DI hears it is more likely to be at least two FPSOs required for what will once again be a phased development approach by Petrobras.

Offshore