These include the successful Päo de Açúcar well, which in late February found two pre-salt accumulations with a total pay of 350m, and estimated 2P reserves of nearly 650 MMboe, with 330 MMb of oil and 1.9 Bcf of gas. The well is located in block BM-C-33 in the Campos Basin, which also contains the Seat and Gávea discoveries, 195 km offshore Rio de Janeiro State in 2,800m of water. Repsol Sinopec is operator with a 35% stake, while Statoil and Petrobras hold 35% and 30% respectively.
This was followed in early March by the 1-RJS-691A-RJS well which found good quality 25° API oil at the Tupi Northeast prospect in the Santos Basin, a few kilometres from the giant Lula field (formally known as Tupi). Reserves here are thought
to be in the region of 500 MMbo (2P), with a 290m oil column in the pre-salt reservoirs, where the targets were microbial and stromatolitic Aptian Barra Velha carbonates and the Itapema lacustrine limestone. Petrobras is operator and owner of the block. Two other discoveries of note occurred in the Santos Basin in January, with Shell’s 1-SHELL-026-RJS well finding 200 MMbo (2P) and OGX discovering 100 MMbo with 1-OGX-063A-SPS.
Petrobras also announced in late March the success of well 4-SPS-86B, known unofficially as Carcará, 232 km off the coast of the state of São Paulo in water depths of 2,027m. Although no reserves estimates have been announced, the well is reported to have found good quantities of 31° API in reservoirs at a depth of 5,750m.
