Thirteen companies have concessions to explore oil in the Equatorial Margin – News of Brazil

By Caio Junqueira

A survey carried out by CNN energy specialist, Adriano Pires, points to the existence of 13 companies with concessions to explore oil along the Equatorial Margin.
See the list below:

• Petrobras
The company wants to be the first to start exploration in deep waters in the region. The 2023-2027 business plan, currently under review, foresees the drilling of 16 wells, with investments estimated at almost US$3 billion over five years in the Equatorial Margin.

The work would begin precisely with the drilling of the well on the coast of Amapá, whose licensing was blocked by Ibama on May 17th. The Brazilian oil company believes that the assets can help replenish the oil reserves that are being consumed in the Campos and Santos Basins.

In total, Petrobras operates:
– five blocks in the Potiguar Basin;
– three in the Pará-Maranhão Basin;
– six in the Foz do Amazonas Basin;
– and three in the Barreirinhas Basin, where it also has minority interests in four other areas.

In the Potiguar Basin, Petrobras already has a discovery, known as Pitu. The company indicated that it may drill a new well in the vicinity of this discovery.

• Shell
The company operates ten blocks in the Barreirinhas Basin and one in the Potiguar Basin, where it also has minority interests in two other assets.

The company has already indicated that it is interested in the region, depending on economic and financial assessments.

Publicly, the president of Shell, Cristiano Pinto da Costa, has classified the decisions on the release for drilling in the Equatorial Margin as “strategic”.

• TotalEnergies
The company has only a remaining minority stake in a block in the Barreirinhas Basin.

In 2018, the company had a request to drill in Foz do Amazonas denied by Ibama, which claimed that the company did not present adequate logistical solutions for possible emergency scenarios.

Since then, TotalEnergies has reduced its presence in the region and reached an agreement with Petrobras for the Brazilian company to take over the French company’s stake in five blocks in the Foz do Amazonas Basin.

• BP
The company operates a block in Barreirinhas, in addition to having two other minority stakes in concessions in the same basin.
In 2017, the company announced that it was preparing the logistics to drill in a block off the coast of Pará, but did not move forward.

Similar to TotalEnergies, BP also chose to dispose of six assets it had in partnership with Petrobras in Foz do Amazonas and transferred its shares in the consortium to the Brazilian state-owned company in 2021.

• Galp
The company has minority interests, of 10%, in four blocks in the Barreirinhas Basin. The company is a partner of Petrobras in all areas.

The president of Galp in Brazil, Daniel Elias, stated that the company chose to keep the assets in the portfolio because it believes in the potential of these blocks.

• Enauta
The company operates two blocks in the Pará-Maranhão Basin and one in the Foz do Amazonas Basin. An exploratory well is expected to be drilled in the PAMA-M-337 block.
According to the company, activities already carried out in these areas, including seismic studies, indicate the presence of light oil.

Enauta even opened sales processes to attract partners for the concessions, but the discussions did not move forward.

• PRIO
The company operates two blocks in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, assets that were inherited when purchased by Brasoil in 2017. Block FZA-M-539 has a natural gas discovery in shallow waters, known as Pirapema.

The area has two wells drilled and estimated potential reserves of up to 28 million cubic meters of gas.

Block FZA-M-254 is an oil asset and, according to the company, is in the study phase to assess potential and schedule drilling.

• Murphy
The company is the operator of three blocks in the Potiguar Basin. The areas were auctioned in the 15th Round, in 2017, in partnership with Wintershall DEA, but Murphy assumed 100% of the concessions through an agreement, signed in 2019.

Murphy is evaluating the drilling of an exploratory well in the region. The company is betting on the proximity of the areas to the Pitu discovery, made by Petrobras in the Potiguar Basin.

• 3R Petroleum
The company operates a block in the Barreirinhas Basin, inherited in the merger with Ouro Preto Óleo e Gás. According to the company, most of the minimum exploration program in the area has already been completed.

• Chariot
The company operates three blocks in the Barreirinhas Basin. In 2017, the company indicated its intention to drill in the region, but reported that activities would only continue after finding partners to share the investments.
To this day, Chariot continues to hold 100% of the concessions it holds in the region.

• Sinopec
The company has minority interests, of 20%, in two blocks in the Pará-Maranhão Basin, where it is a partner with Petrobras.

• Mitsui E&P
The company has a minority stake of 10% in four blocks in the Barreirinhas Basin, where it is a partner of Shell and Aquamarine.
• Aquamarine Exploration
The company has a minority stake of 25% in four blocks in the Barreirinhas Basin. The consortium holding the areas is also made up of Shell and Mitsui E&P.

Source: CNN Brazil

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