Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

een discovered in the basin, including the Marlin, the Roncador, the
Barracuda, the South and East Marlin, and the 539. He described the latter as
the largest field discovered in the Campos basin, with one well drilled so far.
He said that presently, Brazil’s proven oil reserves are estimated at 9.5 billion
barrels of oil equivalent, with total reserves estimated at 17.3 billion barrels of
oil equivalent. He also said that 40 per cent of the proven reserves are found
in water depths ranging between 400 and 1,000 metres, and 31 per cent are
found in water depths in excess of 1,000 metres or in ultra deep waters. He
said that over 50 per cent of the total reserves of the company are found in
ultra deep waters.
With a graph, Dr. Viera de Macedo explained to participants the
potential for undiscovered oil and natural gas resources in Brazil. He pointed
out that based on current information, it is estimated that 49 and 12 per cent of
the total potential resources are in ultra deep and deep waters respectively.
Based on this consideration, Dr. Viera de Macedo said that Petrobras would
have to continue to develop its offshore production technology if it wished to
be able to take advantage of this potential. He said that on 17 March 2000,
Petrobras achieved a daily production rate of 1.26 million barrels that was
made up of 55 per cent from deep-water fields, 25 per cent from water depths
below 400 metres, and 20 per cent from terrestrial sources.
Dr. Viera de Macedo informed participants that because oil deposits in
deep water fields in the world have different characteristics, operators in these
regions have developed different approaches to exploration and production.
He said that in the Campos basin, Petrobras faced challenges arising from
shallow reservoirs and therefore relatively cold oil and gas in the reservoirs,
and unconsolidated sandstones that caused many problems during drilling.
He pointed out however that despite high currents, the environmental
conditions are mild. He said that in the Campos basin Petrobras found steep
slopes on the seabed where the biggest fields were found, including canyons.
He also said that several coral mounds that result in difficulties in placing
equipment on the seafloor were also found. He informed participants that
available infrastructure that was relatively close to the fields helped the
company to overcome these difficulties. He said that presently Petrobras has
5 exploration rigs in the Campos basin, and 19 rigs for production.
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 840