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Petrobras' petroleum reserves on the American side of the Gulf of Mexico amount to somewhere between 300 and 500 million barrels of oil. This is an amount equivalent to Brazil's participation in three recently discovered deep-sea fields.
Overall, Petrobras' 25% of the Cascade fields, its 30% share of the Chinook fields, and its 25% share of the St. Malo fields amount to 1 billion barrels of petroleum. These fields, however, because they are located in deep waters, are run by companies engaged in joint ventures with the Brazilian state-owned giant. This information was furnished by the president of Petrobras America, Renato Tadeu Bertani, to newspaper reporters who attended the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) this morning in Houston, Texas. The new discoveries have led Petrobras to concentrate on deep-water sources. The company is betting on its leadership in petroleum and gas exploration and production activities in the region. Since 2001, when the company began to search for oil in deep waters, Petrobras America has invested a total of US$ 383 million. These investments have permitted the Petrobras branch company to augment its assets, which presently correspond to 277 drilling blocs, in which Petrobras is the operating company in 127. "Our goal in changing our strategy in the American part of the Gulf of Mexico was to concentrate our efforts on a strategically favorable area for us to gain the leadership in the drilling of deep-water petroleum in the region," Bertani affirms. Bertani says that the company is capable of working in the American part of the Gulf on the basis of its state-of-the-art technology and operational efficiency it acquired in drilling and finding oil in the deep waters of the Campos Basin. Bartani commented that production in the US is not growing, whereas consumption continues to be strong, and the Gulf area remains extremely attractive. All in all, daily production in the US amounts to around 5.6 million barrels, while daily consumption is presently around 15.8 million barrels. The US government forecasts that in 2025 daily production will not exceed 4.7 million barrels, while consumption is expected to grow to 20.8 million barrels. For Bertani, the risk of investing in the region is part of the game for the Brazilian company, but it could lead to very profitable future discoveries. "Our notion is to focus our efforts on the discovery of petroleum and gas in deep waters at the depth of two to three thousand meters. We've found a lot of sources and great drilling prospects. Reversing the region's declining production trend is nearly impossible, but we believe we can contribute to turning the situation around." Agência Brasil
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