Brazilian independent PRIO has agreed to acquire Equinor’s 60% operated interest in the Peregrino heavy oil field in the offshore Campos Basin for $3.35 billion, according to a May 1 Equinor news release.
Equinor will retain responsibility for operations until closure of the deal, after which PRIO will assume operatorship.
Last year PRIO also agreed to acquire Sinochem’s 40% stake in Peregrino, although that transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.
Equinor has operated the field since 2009, producing about 300 MMbbl of oil through an FPSO and three fixed platforms. The company’s share of production in the year to date was about 55,000 bbl/d.
Its focus offshore Brazil going forward will be on its operated Bacalhau and Raia field developmennts and Roncador in the Campos Basin, where it is a partner to operator Petrobras. These projects should deliver close to 200,000 bbl/d net production by 2030, according to Philippe Mathieu, Equinor's executive vice president for Exploration and Production International.
PRIO is working on various R&D developments to improve recovery and operational efficiency from its various mature fields in Brazil.
Last year the company announced investments in new recovery solutions involving low salinity water injection and micro emulsions in water injection, and it has other ongoing projects such as use of artificial intelligence to optimize local flow and pressure measurements in wells, and handling hydrate formation.
