Repsol YPF to invest up to US$ 14 billion in the pre-salt layer
O Estado de S. Paulo
Yesterday, the Spanish oil company Repsol YPF announced its US$ 4 billion to US$ 5 billion investment plans for Brazil, between 2010 and 2014. In the second half of the Decade, another US$ 6 billion to US$ 9 billion is planned to be invested. Values may grow according to the development of the projects. Partner of Petrobrás in the pre-salt layer, Repsol studies going public in the country, which would involve a company in charge of its Brazilian assets. The main investments will go for the production of Guará and Carioca, discoveries of the pre-salt layer in the Basin of Campos, operated by Petrobras. Repsol has 25% of the concession and expects to make a decision on the investment at the end of the year. It is expected that Guará produces 250 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (added to gas) a day in 2016.
The share of Repsol in Guará will represent an increase of 108 million barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves until 2014. Between 2015 and 2019, the company intends to appropriate another 139 million barrels with the project. Besides the Guará well, the concession has the wells of Guará Sul, which should start producing in 2013, and Guará Norte, with its start-up scheduled for 2016. As regards the Carioca well, it should produce 110 thousand barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2015, according to the company. Repsol hopes to appropriate 131 million barrels of oil equivalent in reserves of this project until 2019. The Guará and Carioca well are in block BM-S-9, which also has the participation of British BG.
In an interview, after announcing the accounts of the first quarter of this year, the President of Repsol YPF, Antonio Brufau, said the company has already hired investment banks to assess a possible initial public offering in the country. The idea is to offer the market shares in projects the company has in the area of the pre-salt layer. The offer of shares, said Brufau will raise funds to finance the investment plan of the company in the country. He added, however, that Repsol intends to keep the majority share of such assets, thus it may list nearly 40% of the shares. In total, the group plans on investing US$ 38 billion in projects until 2014. Repsol expects its oil and gas production, excluding the YPF Argentine unit, increases between 3% and 4% a year until 2014 and even more than that between 2015 and 2019.