Petrobras, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have won exploration rights in Brazil’s Equatorial Margin, betting that the nation’s environmental regulator will finally open the promising offshore oil region for drilling after years of delay.
TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with Shell to exchange its 20% non-operated interest in the Gato do Mato project for an additional 3% interest in Lapa, a producing offshore oil field. Upon closing, TotalEnergies will increase its stake in Lapa to 48% (operator), alongside Shell (27%) and Repsol Sinopec (25%).
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.