The consortium developing the contentious Libra oilfield offshore Brazil has agreed its working and investment plan for the block for 2014.
The development of the ultra-deepwater prospect will be a joint venture between Petrobras (10%shares plus 30% obligatory interest of the state company in any Brazilian licence), Shell (20% interest), Total (20%), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC, 10%) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC,10%).
The consortium snapped up the licence when the block was first put up for bidding in October last year, met by angry protests across the country’s capital.
Included in the freshly agreed working and investment plan for this year are seismic reprocessing for the entire block; drilling of two wells in the second half of the year; and studies for a new seismic survey all totalling between $400million and $500million in estimated costs.
The oil field in Santos Basin ultra-deep waters is located at a depth of about 16,500ft, below a thick layer of salt sediments, which poses an exploration challenge.
It holds between 8billion and 12billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to the country’s oil regulator. The terms of Libra’s sell-off require the consortium to offer 41.65% of the profit from its future oil sales from the field to Brazil’s federal government.
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