Petrobras strikes pre-salt oil

Petrobras has discovered good quality oil in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin, following the drilling of a sixth well since the oil giant signed a transfer of rights agreement with Brasília.

The well, 1-BRSA-1116-RJS (1-RJS-704), is located at a water depth of 2,009 meters in the pre-salt area known as Florim, 206 km off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras discovered oil with a 29 API rate and located in carbonate reservoirs just below the salt layer, the state-owned oil company announced on Wednesday.

Drilling reached a depth of 5,498 meters and will continue down to approximately 6,100 meters, the depth specified in the rights transfer agreement. This is the sixth well drilled in the area.

When drilling is complete, a formation test will be conducted to determine reservoir productivity, Petrobras has said, in line with the activities stipulated in the agreement’s exploratory program.

The rights transfer agreement was signed in 2010 by the federal government, Petrobras and the country’s oil and gas regulator ANP. It gave the oil giant the right to explore for hydrocarbons in certain blocks of the pre-salt area. Under the agreement, Petrobras must drill a minimum of 10 wells in the area  covering Franco, Florim, Tupi North-East, Guara South, Iara Surround, Tupi South and the contingent Peroba accumulation by September 2014.