This month’s special report focuses on Brazil, that poster-child of deepwater drilling success. Deep under the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil’s state-controlledPetrobras has made what could prove to be the largest oil discovery in 30 years, and one that would propel the already prospering country into the major leagues of oil exporters.
The head of Brazil’s upstream regulatory body National Petroleum and Biofuels Agency (ANP), Haroldo Lima, said in April that the find in the Carioca exploration area could contain 33 Bboe, which would make it the world’s fourth-largest field. Lima did not say whether his unofficial estimate was of recoverable reserves or in-place resources and Petrobras did not comment.
But asContributing Editor Peter Howard Wertheim expresses in his comprehensive analysis beginning on page 36, Petrobras is on to something big. And the news just keeps getting better: “All of the pre-salt blocks achieved exploratory success, something that confirms the region’s high prospectivity,” according to Guilherme Estrella, Petrobras’ E&P director.
Meanwhile, in yet another success story off Brazil, Petrobras has installed the highest horsepower-equipped electric submersible pump (ESP) to date in the 1,400-m (4,593-ft) JUB-6 subsea well in the Jubarte field. The system includes a 1,200-hp motor and a pump capable of producing over 22,000 b/d of heavy oil (17º API). High flow rates and a longer subsea step-out were the drivers for selecting an ESP system as the artificial lift method for the project. Reliability is one of the main concerns of ESPs, and proper selection of the system for the application was critical for the run life of the equipment.
Marcos Pellegrini and Giovanni Colodette of Petrobras, and Ignácio Martinez and Leandro Neves of Baker HughesCentrilift give the details in their report beginning on page 44.
Deepwater rigs – more new orders on the horizon
Despite the number of jackups being built, deepwater rigs are making an impact as well. A record number of deepwater newbuilds are expected to hit the market from 2007 to 2010, according to a study byOffshore. The survey shows 28 new deepwater rigs under construction or expected to be ordered over the five-year timeframe.
Continued worldwide success in deepwater and ultra deepwater is driving the demand for newbuilds equipped with the latest technology and capable of drilling to deeper depths in increasingly deeper water depths.
The biggest change sinceOffshore’s survey two years ago is the absorption of GlobalSantaFe by Transocean Inc. in July 2007. Meanwhile, as the study shows, new names are appearing in the list of deepwater drillers. See the exclusive report for Offshore by Special Correspondent Jaime Kammerzell beginning on page 64.
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