Petrobras-chartered drillship to take part in evaluation program in Brazil’s Equatorial Margin region

Petrobras reports that the NS-42 drillship has arrived on location in block FZA-M-59 in the deepwater Amapá area in Brazil’s Equatorial Margin region.   

The NS-42 drillship, owned by Foresea and chartered by Petrobras, will take part in a “pre-operational assessment” (APO), which will enable Petrobras to obtain a permit to drill an exploratory well in the region.

The FZA-M-59 offshore block is located 175 kilometers off the coast of Amapá and more than 500 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River.

Petrobras believes that there is significant potential for discovering large reserves in the Foz do Rio Amazonas region, based on discoveries in geologically similar regions such as Suriname and Guyana.

However, there is resistance from some segments of society and within the government itself, due to socio-environmental risks.

During this program, the Brazilian environmental protection agency Ibama will evaluate Petrobras’ compliance with the actions provided for in the Fauna Protection and Service Plans and the Emergency Plan. 

Through the simulation of an action to respond to an accident, Petrobras says that the agency will evaluate the efficiency of the relevant equipment; its ability protect and preserve the local fauna and marine life; and compliance with expected response times for communicating with authorities and stakeholders.

The exercise will involve more than 400 people and will rely on logistical resources such as large vessels, helicopters and the NS-42 drilling rig itself, which will be positioned at the site where the well will be drilled. 

Through the APO, Petrobras says that it will be able to demonstrate its ability to act promptly and will be qualified to receive the license to drill the well. The company says that this procedure is similar to the one carried out in 2023 offshore Rio Grande do Norte, before the drilling license for the Pitu Oeste and Anhangá wells.

The president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, said: “We will operate in this drill with the strict safety and readiness protocols that we practice in all Petrobras activities. We are taking to Amapá the largest incident response structure ever mobilized by the company. The confirmation of the existence of oil in the Equatorial Margin may open an important energy frontier for the country, which will develop in an integrated manner with other energy sources and will contribute to the energy transition process occurring in a fair, safe and sustainable way.”