Exxon makes discovery in megafield
Valor Econômico 01/21/2009
One of the most expected pieces of news of the last days concerning the oil exploitation in the pre-salt region has finally come true. ExxonMobil, the largest private oil company in the world, informed the ANP (Brazilian National Oil Agency) the discovery of oil in block 22 of the Santos basin. It is one of the areas with the greatest potential of the pre-salt of Santos and it can have reserves the same size of those found in the Tupi field, where Petrobrás estimates there may be from 5 to 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Whatever the volume, there are great chances the area shelters a giant field. Nevertheless, no company is required to detail estimates of reserves in this stage of the exploration and what Exxon did was to inform the indications to the ANP. The BM-S-22 block, which has been informally referred to as "Azulão", is the only block of the pre-salt operated by a multinational and also the only one in which Petrobrás, which has dominant presence in the area, is a minority stockholder, with interest of 20%; Exxon has 40%; and so does Hess. In the notice sent to the ANP on the January 16 but which was only revealed yesterday, Esso Brasileira, controlled by Exxon, informed it has found oil at sea, through the drilling of the oil well 1 ESSO3SPS, 2,223 meters below the surface of the sea. Esso did not inform how deep the drilling rig West Polaris has drilled so far - from the sea bed crossing the salt layer until finding indications of oil - but on the ANP homepage in the Internet the American company informs the final depth to be drilled is nearly 5 thousand meters.