Peter Howard Wertheim
OGJ correspondent
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 6-- Petrobras Energia SA, the Argentine unit of Brazil's state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), found a natural gas and oil field in southern Argentina's Santa Cruz province.
The discovery, on the El Martillo-El Campamento block, is in the Santa Cruz I area where Petrobras is exploring for oil with Compania General de Combustibles (CGC).
The Puesto Oliverio X-1001 exploratory well, 180 km northwest of Rio Gallegos, tested 60,000 cu m/day of natural gas and recovered 50 cu m of light oil from 2,971-77 m. Exploration plans include two additional wells this year and two in 2005.
Petrobras intends to invest $1.4 billion in Argentina during 2004-07, hoping to produce 340,000 b/d of oil by 2007.