With no prospect of when (and if) oil exploration in the Equatorial Margin will be authorized, Petrobras has once again invested in the Campos Basin, the oldest large oil province in Brazil and whose production began to decline in the last decade.
By 2028, the company intends to invest US$22 billion (almost R$130 billion, at current prices) to increase the volume of oil extracted from reservoirs in the region, located in the waters between the vicinity of Vitória, in Espírito Santo, and Arraial do Cabo, on the north coast of Rio de Janeiro.
This is the largest recovery program for mature assets in deep waters in the world, according to the oil company. The investment will be directed towards intervention in wells already in operation, drilling new wells, as well as installing more modern platforms.
“Four new production platforms will be installed in the coming years, in the Jubarte, Albacora, Barracuda-Caratinga and Raias Manta and Pintada fields (all in Campos), and we will implement around one hundred new wells, which will be interconnected both in the new units and in those already installed, bringing an increase in the recovery factor of the fields and the exploratory campaign”, informed Petrobras to the People’s Gazette.
The scope of the project also includes the replacement of nine platforms with two platform ships (called FPSOs).
Campos Basin is the second largest oil producer in the country
The first field with commercial volume in the Campos Basin, called Garoupa, was discovered in 1974. Other finds subsequently allowed a jump in Brazilian oil production. One of the most significant was Albacora, found in 1984, the first large deepwater field in the country.
Until the discovery of the pre-salt, the Campos Basin reigned supreme in the sector. Today it is the second largest basin in oil production, responsible for 16% of the national volume. It loses to the Santos Basin, which thanks to the pre-salt concentrates 81% of total production, according to the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP).
According to the agency, the Campos Basin produced around 638 thousand barrels of oil and gas (boe) per day in September. Its peak production was in 2009, with 1.65 million barrels per day, according to data from Petrobras.
Over the decades, 14 billion barrels of oil and gas were extracted from this basin. The estimate with revitalization investments is to contain the decline in production and ensure a daily level of 600 thousand barrels by 2028.
“Here in the Campos Basin, we develop and test most of the deepwater and many deepwater technologies that are used around the world today. This is the great importance of the Campos Basin”, said the general manager of Petrobras in the basin, Alex Murteira, in a statement to the EFE agency.
“It continues to be a pioneer, now also with the largest project to revitalize mature fields in the world”, he added.
Another objective of the revitalization is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55%, when compared to the peak predicted in the old units. To achieve this, the company entered into partnerships for existing and new operations.
In projects still in their initial phase, the state-owned company is evaluating the use of deep decarbonization technologies, such as carbon capture, use and storage systems, electrification from land or renewable sources. offshore. In old projects, the path, in addition to technology, is to optimize the processes currently carried out.
Equatorial Margin Impasse Continues
Meanwhile, Petrobras is awaiting an Ibama assessment to obtain an environmental license and begin exploring the Equatorial Margin. The director of Production and Exploration, Sylvia dos Anjos, told journalists on the 8th that, once the license is approved, the search for oil in the region will begin in around three months.
The Equatorial Margin consists of the maritime strip between the coast of Rio Grande do Norte and Amapá. It is considered due to the estimated commercial volume: around 10 billion barrels. Of this total, in block FZA-M-59 alone, in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, Petrobras’ main point of interest, it is estimated that there are 5.6 billion barrels, according to the company.
The blocks on the Equatorial Margin were auctioned in 2013 and to date have not received an environmental license. The biggest obstacle concerns the case of leaks. According to Ibama, the studies presented so far do not provide sufficient security for the region. In addition to the great exploratory potential, Foz do Amazonas has a vast biome and the presence of indigenous and riverside peoples.
Last month, . The president of Ibama, Rodrigo Agostinho, did not agree to archive the process, but also did not release the requested license.
The oil company said it is and will send the detailed emergency plan in the event of a leak in the Oiapoque region, in Amapá, 160 kilometers from the oil exploration site.
