Norway’s Statoil has farmed into a promising block in the Espirito Santo Basin offshore Brazil, close to a neighbouring block where it is already a partner and which contains the ultra-deepwater Indra discovery.

The state-owned company is buying a 25% participating interest from Brazilian mining giant Vale SA in block BM-ES-22A, which is comprised of the two blocks ES-M- 468 and ES-M-527. Petrobras is the operator of BM-ES-22A with a 75% stake, with Vale currently holding the other 25%. The block lies in the Outer Espirito Santo Basin, partially adjacent to the Petrobras-operated BM-ES-32 license that contains Indra.

The Indra find straddles the border between BM-ES-22A and BM-ES-32. Statoil will now be part of an ongoing appraisal well on Indra in BM-ES-22A, with another exploration well also planned for 2013.

The transaction remains subject to approval by the Brazilian authorities and other conditions before closing. No transaction value has been disclosed.

The BM-ES-32 block containing Indra is operated by Petrobras with a 60% interest, with Statoil holding the remainder. The original exploration well was completed in December 2010 in a water depth of 2,130 m (6,989 ft). The well hit 70 m (230 ft) of light oil in a good quality sandstone reservoir.

“The acquisition allows Statoil to expand its position in a prioritised basin for Statoil. The position is in line with Statoil’s exploration strategy of deepening core areas”, said Nick Maden, senior vice president, Exploration International. “The exploration results over the last years in the Espirito Santo Basin give encouragement for further exploration in this area. The planned activity within BM-ES-22A will further test this play, but still with some exploration risk,” he said.