Petrobras for 30 ultra-deep wells

New Petrobras President Francisco Gros said Brazil's national oil company expects to drill 30 wells in water depths exceeding 1,000 meters and 18 in water depths exceeding 2,000 meters in 2002. In 2001, Petrobras drilled 36 wells in at least 1,000 meters and seven in at least 2,000 meters water depths. Speaking during the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, he said the Marlim Sul area is one of the spots in the Campos basin that will receive quite a bit of drilling attention from Petrobras.
Brazil's highest producing single well, the Marlim Sul 42 ? H in the Campos basin, is in 1,220 meters water depth and produces 37,000 b/d. The company also plans to install a subsea multiphase pumping system prototype, which is now in endurance testing. Petrobras said it will also focus on exploratory drilling in the Santos basin, south of Campos, where 3D seismic surveys are complete. Other areas of focus will be Latin America, Gulf of Mexico, and West Africa.
The company, Gros said, also broke a record with its recent installation of a subsea gas lift manifold for the distribution of gas at a depth of 1,885 meters in the Roncador field in the Campos Basin. The unit is 10 meters x 7.5 meters x 4 meters and weighs 191 tons. It was manufactured in Brazil by FMC-CBV.
Gros said Petrobras plans to acquire an E&P company and a refinery in an effort to expand into new countries, although the company will invest only "after meticulous analysis."