Petrobras strikes pre-salt oil in Marlim Sul area

Brazilian oil company Petrobras has made an oil discovery in the Campos Basin’s pre-salt layer, in the area of Marlim Sul field.

This is the first commercial discovery of oil in the pre-salt layer of the Marlim Sul area. The discovery occurred during drilling of Poraquê Alto well, at final depth of 4,568 m.

The well which identified the discovery is located 115 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro State, at 1,107 m water depth.

The discovery was confirmed by profile data, gas detector, formation testing by cable, and fluid samples. The analysis of current data indicates carbonate reservoirs of good porosity and permeability features, at 4,420 m depth and 45 m thick with oil presence, Petrobras said.

“This result demonstrates the potential for new discoveries in mature basins, with production infrastructure already deployed,” Petrobras said.

FPSO scrapped

Interestingly, this is not the first time this week Offshore Energy Today has reported on the Marlim Sul area.

OET on Wednesday published an article on SBM Offshore selling its previously demobilized FPSO Marlim Sul for recycling.

SBM said in its 2017 half-year financial results this week that the FPSO, removed from the Petrobras-operated oil field, was sold for recycling and transferred off the balance sheet in July 2017.

The FPSO Marlim Sul worked at the Marlim Sul field for Petrobras for over a decade before the end of service. The vessel had been delivered to SBM by Keppel, following a conversion from a VLCC in 2004.

Worth noting, the FPSO was not the only production unit at the field. Currently, Petrobras is using the P-56 semi-submersible platform for oil production at the Marlim Sul.

 

Offshore Energy Today Staff