The Membro Siri project will test flows on a shallow-water accumulation of 13 degree-API crude overlying the Badejo field.
If the project flies, its output will be among the heaviest oil ever produced offshore, sources said.
Petrobras believes as much as 2 billion barrels of oil are in place on a field discovered 20 years ago but never developed.
The commercial viability of producing from Membro Siri's heavy-reef carbonate formation has not yet been established and Petrobras has opted for an extended well test through a two-kilometre horizontal well, employing acid fracturing techniques.
This
