First oil: Petrobras sees Tupi oil in May
May day launch for Tupi oil
Brazilian state-run Petrobras is on target to pump the first oil from the Tupi on 1 May, company boss Jose Sergio Gabrielli said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plans to commemorate the event, but had indicated in March that the long-term test could possibly be delayed.
Gabrielli, however, told Dow Jones that the Singapore-produced rig scheduled to tap the Santos basin oilfield "was already there", and was starting preparations for the test.
The initial test well at Tupi is expected to produce about 30,000 barrels per day.
In November 2007, Petrobras estimated Tupi had recoverable reserves of between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
In late 2010, Petrobras will start a pilot production programme at Tupi, installing the Angra dos Reis floating production, storage and offloading vessel at the field.
The FPSO will be capable of producing 100,000 bpd, as well as 150 million cubic feet of gas per day and have storage for 1.6 million barrels of crude oil.
Tupi is in the Santos basin's pre-salt layer off the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states.