Petrobras CFO: 1M b/d from Tupi 'Not Out of Reach'
A peak oil output of 1 million barrels a day at the ultra-deep Tupi field in Brazil's Santos Basin is "not out of reach," the chief financial officer of state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or Petrobras, said Wednesday.
The field, which is in the promising pre-salt area off Brazil's coast, could reach its peak output as early as five to seven years from now, CFO Almir Barbassa said. He spoke at the annual conference of the Latibex exchange of Latin American companies traded in Madrid.
Barbassa said it's too early to tell exactly what Tupi's peak output will be and when it will be reached. Currently, the company is able to make only rough estimates and cannot give exact production targets for the field, he said.
Petrobras' shares were down 0.92% to 76.59 Brazilian reals ($42.96) at 1704 GMT in Sao Paulo. Its shares earlier Wednesday had fallen as low as BRL75.51 after the company announced a decline in its October production.
Petrobras said Oct. 8 it estimates oil and gas reserves at Tupi at between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or BOE, making it Brazil's largest ever discovery.
The latest discovery lies a considerable seven kilometers below sea level: the water depth is around 2,000 meters, followed by 3,000 meters of rock and sand below the seabed, and then a further 2,000 meters through a layer of salt.
Petrobras Chief Executive Sergio Gabrielli said further discoveries in the pre-salt layer could place Brazil among the eight countries with the largest oil reserves in the world.
Gabrielli last week also said that Tupi production will "very likely" top 200,000 BOE a day. Pilot production at the field may start in 2010-2011 at around 100,000 BOE a day.
Wood Mackenzie analyst Matthew Shaw recently also said production at Tupi could peak at around 1 million barrels, but expects the field's output to peak only by 2022.
He calls Tupi "one of the most significant oil discoveries in the last 20 years," only surpassed by the 12.9-billion-barrel Kashagan field found in Kazakhstan in 2000.
Petrobras is Tupi's leading field operator with a 65% stake, and U.K. energy company BG Group PLC (BRGYY) holds another 25% of the field. The remaining 10% stake is controlled by Portugal's Galp Energia SGPS SA (GALP.LB).
Brazil will discuss whether it should join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after it has gauged the impact on its oil exports from Tupi, Isnard Penha Brasil, Brazil's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said in Riyadh Friday.
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
- Gunvor CEO Sees Russian Refining Capacity Taking Hit from Drone Strikes
- These Factors Helped Brent Oil Price Break Above $85
- Sinopec Engineering Posts Higher Annual Petrochemicals Revenue
- Imperial Pipeline in Winnipeg Goes Offline for Three Months
- Gaz System to Acquire Gas Storage Poland
- Subsea7 Secures Contract to Service Woodside's Trion
- Adnoc Inks Supply Deal for Ruwais LNG Project with Germany's SEFE
- EIA Boosts USA Crude Oil Production Forecasts
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- EIA Drops 2024 Henry Hub Gas Price Forecast
- EIA and Standard Chartered Offer Up Latest Oil Price Predictions
- Red Sea Region Sees Another Watershed Incident
- Chevron Oil Project in Kazakhstan to Cost $48.5B
- OPEC Voices Encouragement after IEA Affirms Support for Oil Security
- Biden Govt Bares Strategy for Freight Charging, Hydrogen Fueling Infra
- Rystad Looks at the Buzz Around White Hydrogen
- Ukraine Hits Third Russian Refinery In Escalating Drone Strikes
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Is Peak Oil Demand Close?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Reveal Latest Oil Price Forecasts
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Rystad Forecasts Net Production of Top Permian Producers in 2024
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension