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 Petrobras, the Brazilian state-controlled oil multinational announced this Monday, July 14, that it had notified the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANP) about the discovery of a new high-quality oil producing area in the Basin of Espírito Santo, in Southeast Brazil.
According to Petrobras, the discovery was made within the area of the Golfinho field, 60 kilometers (37 miles) away from state capital Vitória, at a depth of 1,374 meters (4,508 feet).
"Initial estimates point to a potential of 150 million barrels of recoverable oil," the company stated in the release.
To the state-owned company, the finding "opens up new vistas with regard to exploration in the area, and has the advantage of being located near the infrastructure already installed at the Golfinho Field." The company believes that the new area may become operational soon.
At the end of May, Petrobras had announced a discovery of an "important accumulation of petroleum" in shallow waters at the southern portion of the Santos Basin, along the coastline of the state of São Paulo (SE Brazil). According to the company, the drilling of well x1-BRSA-607-SPS (1-SPS-56) proved presence of light oil in reservoirs located above the salt layer.
The company, which is the sole concession holder for bloc BM-S-40, where the reserves are located, also informed that tests point to high flow and a production potential of 12,000 barrels per day in each well.
The exploration well is located 275 kilometers to the south of the city of Santos, where the sea reaches depths of 235 meters. Tests are being conducted in a reservoir shortly over 2,000 meters deep. Petrobras also informed that it was going to drill another exploration well in the same bloc starting in July.
On July 3, the Brazilian oil company informed that it had achieved a new record in monthly production in the country in June. An average of 1.867 million barrels were extracted per day during that month.
The total surpassed the previous record, achieved in December 2007, by 12,600 barrels per day. According to the company, the average for June was 4.2% greater than that of June 2007, and 0.7% greater than recorded in May 2008.
Petrobras also told that the performance resulted mainly from the entry into operation of new wells linked to the P-52 and P-54 platforms, located in the Roncador Field, at the Campos Basin, in the southeastern coast of the country, and to the Piranema platform, in the coast of the northeastern Brazilian state of Sergipe.
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