Petrobras has notched up another significant sub-salt discovery offshore Brazil in the Santos Basin ultra-deepwater block, BM-S-8.
Brazil’s NOC said in a statement that it has proven the presence of sub-salt oil with well 1-BRSA-532A-SPS (1-SPS-52A), which was drilled with the semi-submersible drilling rig, Noble Paul Wolff, in 2,139m of water.
The well, an appraisal of the Bem-Te-Vi discovery announced in April, was drilled to a total depth of 6,773m (22,222ft) and was completed on May 18.
Petrobras said the discovery was proven by sampling reservoir sequence to a depth of some 6,000m. Preliminary analyses point to a medium-heavy crude of 25-28DegAPI. This is characteristic of the other subsoil oil found in the Santos Basin.
The company also said that a discovery assessment plan was being prepared for presenting to Brazil’s Agencia Nacional do Petroleo (ANP).
Petrobras is the operator of block BM-S-8, the Bem-Te-Vi discovery, and this new appraisal discovery with 66% interest in partnership with Royal Dutch Shell, holding 20% interest, and Galp Energia with the remaining 14%.
News of the initial Bem- Te-Vi find started to trickle out late March and was eventually confirmed as being true.
The now confirmed and sizeable find lies 35km south of last year’s huge Tupi discovery, and the latest well is the 10th apparently successful test well drilled in what Petrobras calls the Carioca area of the Santos Basin.
Carioca extends across four exploration blocks in what is called the Sao Paulo section of the Santos Basin, blocks BM-S-8 (Bem-Te-Vi discovery), BM-S-9 (Sugar Loaf discovery), BM-S-10 and BM-S-11 (Tupi discovery). Royal Dutch Shell and Galp Energia are Petrobras’s partners in these blocks.
Galp’s CEO, Manuel Ferreira de Oliveira, has dubbed the area “The North Sea of the South”.
There is increasing evidence for the claim that the Carioca area could contain reserves of 25-40billion barrels of oil.
Other wells currently drilling/completing include: Guara-1, being drilled on block BM-S-9 to test the Iguacu Complex; another Sugar Loaf appraisal in BM-S-22; the Iara-1 exploration well on block BM-S-11, which may prove to be an extension of the Tupi reservoir, and another well in Tupi Sul (South) that is expected to deliver a big lift in the field’s estimated reserves to more than 8billion barrels oil equivalent.
Meanwhile, Petrobras has started drilling the first of three new prospects in another sector known as the in the Camamu-Almada Basin.
Norse, a partner in the licence, said Petrobras started drilling the Peroba-1 well in block BM-CAL-6 on May 21 with the semi-submersible drilling rig, Ocean Winner. Anticipated TD is 2,800m ((9,187ft) in upper Cretaceous sandstones. Water depth is 1,170m.
Once the Peroba well is completed, the semi-submersible is scheduled to transfer to block BM-CAL-5 to the Copaiba prospect and later the Jequitiba prospect, drilling one well on each, at least for the time being.
Petrobras operates blocks BM-CAL-5 and BM-CAL-6 with a 45% interest. Partners are Queiroz Galvao Perfuracoes with 18.34%, plus Norse Energy and El Paso with 18.33% each.
On the basis of the Tupi and Carioca successes alone, Brazil has been catapulted up the reserves league table.