Petrobras announces the start up of the Extended Well Test (EWT) for the Carimbé reservoir, in the Campos Basin. Discovered last May, the reservoir is located 108 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. This test, which is being carried out with well 6-CRT-43-RJS, marks the beginning of pre-salt oil exploration in the central area of the sedimentary basin.
Seeking to take advantage of the area’s existing production and offloading infrastructure, after being drilled, assessed, and completed the EWT’s well was interconnected to vessel platform FPSO P-48, which is installed at the Caratinga field and will be able to receive the production without any upgrade. The initial production planned for this well during the EWT period is 24,000 barrels per day and the total recoverable volume is estimated at 97 million barrels.
This discovery is another result achieved by the strategy set forth under the “Planóleo,” a program designed to intensify exploration and production work in areas surrounding fields that are already producing in order to harness the capacity of existing facilities, reduce costs, and streamline the production of new volumes of oil.
Petrobras has already submitted the Discovery Assessment Plan (PAD) to the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANP). In addition to the production derived from the well in the EWT, this plan also calls for the drilling and assessment of two extension wells.
In addition to the Carimbé accumulation, oil discoveries have already been made in the pre-salt layer in other Campos Basin regions: in the Albacora Leste field, there is evidence of oil at the site known as Crealb, while in Marlim Leste and Marlim, Petrobras will soon begin extended well tests in the areas known as Tracajá and Brava, respectively.
In the northern portion of the Campos Basin, off the coast of Espírito Santo, the area known as Parque das Baleias has been producing pre-salt oil since August 2008.
[mappress]
Source: Petrobras, December 15, 2010