Brazilian firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA has signed two more joint-venture agreements for exploration of license blocks off Brazil. The latest JVs are with groups led by BP Amoco PLC and Royal Dutch/Shell.
Announcements of signed agreements for the offshore acreage have been steady ever since Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP) allotted a group of blocks to Petrobras under the country's demonopolization program.
Block BFZ-2
A group led by BP Amoco unit British Petroleum Brasil Ltda. signed an exploration agreement with Petrobras for Block BFZ-2 in the Foz do Amazonas basin off northern Brazil (see map). Interests in the block are: operator BP Amoco, 35%; Petrobras, 30%; ExxonMobil Corp. unit Esso Brasileira de Petroleo Lta., 20%; and Elf Aquitaine SA unit Elf Petroleos do Brasil Ltda., 15%.
Block BFZ-2 covers 25,000 sq km and is in 100-2,000 m of water about 300 km northeast of the mouth of the Amazon River. BP Amoco says it plans to begin work on the block as soon as ANP approves the final contracts.
In separate statements, the block's partners reinforced their commitment to exploring off Brazil, each spotlighting some of their previously signed contracts with Petrobras.
This agreement marks the second block contract for BP Amoco. Its first was for operatorship and a 30% interest in Block BMFZA-1 in mid-1999, following the offering by ANP of 27 blocks in its first licensing round (OGJ, June 28, 1999, p. 31). Block BMFZA-1 is adjacent to Block BFZ-2.
ExxonMobil's inclusion in the BFZ-2 agreement makes this the company's third deepwater exploration in the Amazon basin and the seventh such contract for acreage off Brazil. And most notable of Elf's other agreements, it said, is the acquisition in August 1999 of operatorship and a 35% interest in Block BC-2 in the Campos basin (OGJ, Sept. 6, 1999, Newsletter).
Block BS-4
A Shell-led group inked an agreement for Block BS-4 in 1,000-2,400 m of water in the Santos basin. Block partners are operator Shell and Petrobras, each holding 40%, and Texaco Inc., with 20%.
Block BS-4 covers 2.7 million acres and is about 110 miles southeast of Rio de Janeiro. The work program for the acreage includes acquisition and interpretation of 2D and 3D seismic surveys and drilling of additional exploratory wells, says partner Texaco.
"We are committed to pursuing high-impact exploration opportunities and are pleased with the potential of this block. This agreement, coupled with the company's success in Brazil's first license round and subsequent agreements with Petrobras [on its blocks], further solidifies Texaco's participation in the Brazilian upstream industry," said Bruce S. Appelbaum, Texaco vice-president of worldwide exploration. The agreement was Texaco's sixth for offshore Brazil acreage in 1999.