Xerelete oil field in Brazil reported commercial

Uchenna Izundu
International Editor

LONDON, Sept. 13 -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has informed Brazil's National Petroleum Agency that the Xerelete heavy oil discovery in ultradeep water off Brazil is commercial. It tested flows as high as 2,500 b/d.

Xerelete—formerly known as Curió—was previously operated by Total SA, which made the discovery in 2001 over Blocks BC-2 and BMC-14 in the prolific Campos basin.

The 1-EPB-1-RJS exploration well, drilled in water 2,483 m deep, hit sandy, 17.5° gravity oil-bearing reservoirs at a depth of 3,478 m. It is Brazil's deepest subsea discovery to date.

Xerelete contains relatively heavy oil of 17-20° gravity. Preliminary geological studies suggest that Xerelete may extend for more than 26 sq km, holding an estimated in-place volume of some 1.4 billion boe. "Additional studies are being carried out to define this new field's production development project," Petrobras said.

Petrobras operates both blocks. It is working with Total and Devon on Block BC-2. On Block BMC-14, Petrobras and Total each hold a 50% stake.

Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].