Brazil’s energy ministry has proposed measures to raise around 35 billion reais ($6.2 billion) from the oil industry over the next two years to help the government meet its fiscal targets.
On Monday, Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira presented measures to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that include selling oil exploration licenses and a review of the reference prices used to calculate oil taxes, the ministry said in a message. If approved, it would be an alternative to a controversial increase in tax rates on some financial transactions.
Mero-4 will connect 12 wells to the new Alexandre de Gusmão floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, which has an output capacity of 180,000 bpd. The fourth development will also enable 12 million cubic meters (423.78 million cubic feet) of gas compression a day. The consortium approved the project August 2021.
Launched in August 2021, this new phase called “Mero-4” will connect 12 wells to the new Alexandre de Gusmão FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) unit, with a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). This project has been designed to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, with reinjection of the associated gas into the reservoir and zero routine flaring.
BW Energy has reached final investment decision (FID) for the Maromba development offshore Brazil based on a capex-efficient development with an integrated drilling and wellhead platform (WHP) and a refurbished FPSO. The development targets 500 million barrels of oil in place in the highly delineated and tested Maastrichtian sands.
Equinor subsidiary Equinor Brasil Energia has entered into agreements to sell its 60% operated interest in Brazil’s Peregrino offshore oilfield to Prio Tigris, a subsidiary of Brazilian independent oil and gas company Prio, for USD 3.5 billion, the Norwegian company announced on Friday.
Paris-listed Vallourec has secured a contract with Dutch offshore contractor Allseas to supply line pipes for the Petrobras-operated Buzios 10 offshore project in Brazil, Vallourec announced on Tuesday.
Brazil will offer 172 oil blocks that span areas on land to deep-water regions in northeastern and southern Brazil under concession contracts. A total of 47 are at the Foz do Amazonas, where Petrobras is appealing to drill its first well after having its exploration campaign blocked in 2023. Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry says that basin could contain oil fields similar to those discovered in Suriname and Guyana, where Exxon Mobil Corp. found billions of barrels.
The Equatorial Margin offshore Brazil, which includes Foz do Amazonas, Pará-Maranhão, and Barreirinhas basins, is estimated to hold large oil and gas reserves and is believed to share geology similar to that of Guyana’s offshore, where Exxon is finding billions of barrels of oil and has developed and is developing half a dozen projects. Petrobras is appealing Ibama’s decision to not grant drilling rights. However, this decision may spook potential candidates for the blocks, according to a local analyst.
Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it has finished building a wildlife rescue center, marking a step toward its first exploratory well in a promising yet contentious region offshore the country’s Northern state.