Offshore staff

(Brazil)- Brazilian federal energy company Petrobras is setting its sights on the new frontier areas of the Espírito Santo, Santos and Potiguar basins for future large scale hydrocarbons discoveries, according to company E&P director Guilherme de Oliveira Estrella.

Petrobras has had a strong presence and been very successful in the Campos basin, but it is now considered a mature basin and so new discoveries there are "rare," he said.

Petrobras picked up five Potiguar basin blocks in the seventh hydrocarbons licensing round held October 17-19 and will drill two wells there next year, Estrella said. The investment commitment in that basin is $40 million.

Petrobras committed to invest $90 million in the Espírito Santo basin, and will drill six wells in shallow water for gas. In deeper waters of the basin expectations are for oil, and the company will drill one well and invest $27 million.

The emphasis in the Santos basin is on gas, where Petrobras will invest a total of $295 million for drilling, $250 million for eight wells in deepwater and the balance for three wells in shallow water.

Petrobras added 40,000 sq km to its exploration portfolio in round 7, which now stands at 160,870 sq km, of which almost 110,000 sq km are deepwater.
Petrobras will invest $1 billion in domestic exploration every year through 2010, Estrella added.

10/24/05