Brazil: Roncador Oil Seep Origin Still Unknown

Regarding the seep in the Roncador Field, Brazil’s oil and gas company, Petrobras, announces that analyses have confirmed that the droplets are not oil from any active reservoir in this field or from any other oil produced in the Campos Basin.

The seep occurred in the Roncador Field, in the Campos Basin – 120 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. It was discovered on Sunday, April 8, during an inspection conducted with an ROV, near the Chevron operated Frade field where two seeps – one in November, 2011 and the second in early March, 2012, occurred.

The droplet characteristics are similar to those of a fluid used in well-drilling operations, whose basic component is n-paraffin.  There has been no recent drilling near this area of the Roncador Field and no slicks have been reported on the sea surface.

Inspection of the cementing work quality at the wells located in the Roncador Field, near the site where the droplets were found, indicates there is effective integrity and isolation between the wells and the formations surrounding them.

Petrobras’ technical team is analyzing the origin of the fluid.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, April 12, 2012