Bob Williams
Executive Editor
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 3 -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA has targeted a major increase in oil and gas production and reserves from the deep and ultradeep waters of the Campos basin off Rio de Janeiro by the end of the decade.
Petrobras executive César Luiz Palagi updated Campos basin production development in a paper presented late Monday at the World Petroleum Congress in Rio de Janeiro.
Targets
Petrobras is targeting Campos offshore production of crude oil averaging more than 1.8 million b/d "well before" 2010, Palagi said, up from the current level of 1.26 million b/d.
As a result of aggressive deepwater development currently under way and planned, Petrobras also expects its combined oil and gas reserves will climb to 11.7 billion boe by 2005 from 9.7 billion boe today. More than 75% of that total is expected to come from the deepwater and ultradeepwater Campos basin.
"Two billion (boe) of that increase will come from new discoveries," Palagi said, adding that new deepwater technology will still play a critical role in achieving the increase, as well as exploration and appraisal-development drilling.
The strong growth projections and emphasis on deepwater development have precedents for Petrobras: The Brazilian state oil company has more than doubled its production and more than doubled its water-depth production threshold since the 1970s.
Campos action
Petrobras currently operates 40 production units in 39 fields in the Campos basin, breaking out as 14 fixed platforms, 16 floating drilling and production units (mainly converted semisubmersibles), and 10 floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units.
Leading the initial surge in deepwater production in the Campos basin has been the development of Albacora and Marlim fields in 230-1,040 m of water. These two giant fields currently produce a combined 680,000 b/d of oil and 10.6 million cu m.day of gas.
Another six giant fields are currently under development as well in the deepwater Campos basin: Roncador, Albacora Leste, Marlim Sul, Marlim Leste, and the adjoining Barracuda-Caratinga complex .
These fields contain a combined 4.2 billion boe of proved reserves, Palagi said, and are under early production from pilot systems tied back to existing platforms in Marlim and Albacora or to floating production units (FPUs). Two FPUs are producing in Marlim Sul, and three FPSOs are under construction for installation in Barracuda, Caratinga, and Roncador.
Full development of Marlim Sul, Barracuda-Caratinga, Albacora Leste, and Roncador calls for installation of 11 FPUs and tie-in of 150 producing and 100 injection wells.
All of this effort will require a capital investment of more than $10 billion, resulting in a net increment of new production totaling more than 1 million b/d, Palagi said.
