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Tuesday, 02 December, 2008, 22:10 GMT | more >>

Petrobras suggests Carioca news soon



By Gareth Chetwynd 

Petrobras should have more detailed information about a highly touted subsalt oil discovery off Brazil by the end of the month, officials said Tuesday, but they declined to speculate on its size.

“We think we have a very large possibility,” said Petrobras president Jose Sergio Gabrielli. “I can’t give a precise range.”

The Brazilian state oil company chief was speaking at a news briefing at the Offshore Technology Conference currently taking place in Houston.

More specific information should be available by the end of the month when results from the latest test well in vicinity of the Carioca-Sugar Loaf prospect are expected, said company upstream director Guilherme Estrella, who joined in the news briefing.

Petrobras is currently testing a well on a prospect called Bem-Te-Vi on Block BM-S8, which may be part of a larger formation known as Sugarloaf.

Another part of this system, called Carioca, tested light crude successfully on Block BM-S-9.

“We have suspicion we have very huge hydrocarbons in the area,” Gabrielli said, referring to the key question of whether the recent discoveries are part of a single oil-bearing structure. “We don’t know if they’re continuous or not.”

Petrobras’ expanding opportunities will necessitate an increase in planned capital spending and could lead to investment in drilling rigs, Gabrielli said.

The current capital budget to 2012 is $112.7 billion, but a new budget will be released in July to accommodate delineation and development of the pre-salt finds like Tupi and Carioca, Gabrielli said.

The Petrobras boss added that the state-controlled company may consider investing in building its own rigs if the huge potential of the new hydrobarbon resources is confirmed.

“If we have a very large demand, we may think in terms of a strategic alliance to get a more defined supply of drilling rigs,” Gabrielli said.

Petrobras will also need to increase its debt leverage from 19% at present to about 30% in order to finance the new development activity, Gabrielli said.

Plans call for raising $5 billion in capital markets this year, he said.

Strategic objectives include increasing production to 3.2 million barrels (oil equivalent) per day by 2012 and 4.2 million bpd by 2015, up from 2.3 million bpd currently.


Tuesday, 06 May, 2008, 21:26 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 06 May, 2008, 22:03 GMT

Divination: A host of speculation but no specifics yet from Petrobras
 

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