Petrobras Participates in the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Petrobras will participate, from May 3 to 6, in Houston, Texas, in the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), the world's main offshore oil industry event. In the 2010 edition of the OTC, Petrobras will highlight its experience in developing and applying technology in deep and ultradeep waters.

On Tuesday (05/04), at 2 PM (4 PM Brasilia Standard Time), Petrobras' CEO, Jose Sergio Gabrielli, the CEO of Petrobras America, Orlando Azevedo, and the executive manager for Pre-Salt Exploration & Production, Jose Miranda Formigli, are scheduled to grant a news conference to discuss the discoveries made in the pre-salt layer, off the Brazilian coast, the Cascade and Chinook fields in the Gulf of Mexico, and Petrobras' business in Brazil and abroad.

The major pre-salt discoveries

In recent years, Petrobras and its partners have made significant discoveries in the pre-salt layer. The oil is of good quality – around 30 degrees API – and is nestled in reservoirs located at depths of 5,000 to 7,000 meters from the water line. The leading operator of this exploratory frontier, considered as one of the largest in the world, the company expects to invest $111.4 billion in the development of pre-salt production by 2020.

It is currently estimated that the recoverable volumes in the granted areas add up to between 10.6 and 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). In the Santos Basin's pre-salt pole, located some 300 km off the Brazilian coast, the Tupi accumulations hold recoverable volumes that have been estimated at between 5 and 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent, while Iara is believed to hold 3 to 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in block BM-S-11, where Petrobras operates in partnership with BG Group (25%) and Galp Energia (10%). The Guara reservoir has an estimated volume of recoverable oil between 1.1 to 2 billion barrels of light oil and natural gas, in block BM-S-9, operated by Petrobras with BG Group (30%) and Repsol (25%) as partners. The other Santos Basin reservoirs, among which Jupiter, Carioca, Bem-Te-Vi, Parati, Caramba, Iguacu, and Iracema, are currently being assessed. In the Jubarte field's pre-salt area, a region known as Parque das Baleias, located in the Campos Basin, it is estimated there are 1.5 to 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Good results in Tupi

The week in which the 2010 OTC takes place marks a year of Tupi Extended Well Test (EWT), which has provided valuable information about the behavior of the reservoirs, about fluid movement during production, about submarine flow, and regarding the best well geometry. The Tupi EWT is the first step to develop the extensive oil and gas discoveries made below the salt layer.

The BW Cidade de Sao Vicente vessel platform installed in Tupi is 280 km away from the coast, anchored at a site where water depth is 2,160 meters, and is producing about 20,000 barrels of oil per day. . In late 2010, FPSO Cidade de Angra dos Reis will come into operation in the place of the EWT in order to kick-off the Pilot Project, with capacity to produce 100,000 barrels of oil and 5 million cubic meters gas per day. The new unit is capable of separating and reinjecting the CO2 that is produced together with gas.

Also in 2010, the EWT for Guara, in block BM-S-9, will begin with the production of 15,000 barrels of oil per day. In 2017, production in the pre-salt is expected to surpass the one million barrel of oil per day barrier, reaching 1.8 million in 2020. This will virtually double Brazil's current production.

First FPSO to operate in the Gulf of Mexico

One of Petrobras' highlights in the United States is the development of Cascade and Chinook fields, in the Gulf of Mexico, of which Petrobras is the operator. The Company will be the first to operate an FPSO- (floating production, storage, and offloading) type platform in the region.

In addition to the FPSO, oil transportation by means of shuttle tankers and the use of self-sustainable submerged pumps and risers (submarine outflow lines) are among the innovations the Company is introducing in the region. Built based on the hull of a different vessel, FPSO BW Pioneer is capable of processing nearly 80,000 barrels of oil and 500,000 cubic meters of gas per day and can store nearly 500,000 barrels of oil.

Among the main advantages afforded by the platform vessel is the fact that it can be quickly disconnected from the wells when there is a hurricane threat. This feature ensures the safety of the people on board, the preservation of the equipment, and a reduction in operational downtime.

Petrobras holds 100% of the Cascade field, and 66.7% of the stakes in Chinook field, in partnership with Total (33.33%). According to the 2009-2013 Business Plan, the Company estimates it will invest $4.45 billion in the United States in the period.

Petrobras in the OTC

The historical participation of Petrobras in OTC repeats itself this year with a delegation formed by more than 70 people, focused on the technological development of the offshore oil industry. The company has already been granted three OTC awards. In 2007, Petrobras Research Center (Cenpes) engineer Marcos Assayag was granted the Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals for his contribution to the development of technologies to produce oil in deep and ultra-deep waters. In 2001, the technologies used in the Roncador Field gave Petrobras the Distinguished Achievement Award for Organizations. In 1992, the Company had already been granted the same award for the technologies applied in the Marlim Field, in the Campos Basin.

INFORMATION, PHOTOS, AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDINGS AT WWW.PETROBRASNEWSAGENCY.COM

SOURCE Petrobras