Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - oil

The exploratory campaigns by Petrobras and other players continue uncovering new O&G provinces in Brazil.The latest discovery is in the Brazilian northeast region, in the ultra deep Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, where Petrobras identified the presence of hydrocarbons similar to those bearing oil in deep Campos Basin waters. Data analysis confirms the existence of large accumulations in this sector of the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, implying that there are greater volumes than those found in the shallow water fields such as Guaricema and Dourado. The seismic profile data points to the presence of large volumes of light hydrocarbons. This well, called 1-BRSA-851-SES (1-SES-158)…

The 15th edition of the Rio Oil & Gas 2010 conference and convention broke all records of public and participants and is being considered the biggest and best edition ever. While it can be said that O&G was the main theme of the event, bio-fuels and the maritime industry also had a strong presence. The theme for this 15 edition of the Rio Oil & Gas was “From Petroleum to Bio-fuels: Integrating Knowledge and Increasing the Limits”. The numbers are really impressive, from September 13, when the event started, around 46 thousand participants from 51 countries passed through the 5 pavilions and 2 massive tents arrayed in the 37,000 m² of Riocentro convention center in Rio de Janeiro. There were over 1,700 exhibitors and 740 technical papers presented by researchers from 28 countries.

According to Petrobras and many other players involved in the O&G market, Rio de Janeiro is the new oil capital of the world.Now that actually may come to be, but there is still a ways to go. As it is, we are all happy campers down here. It is not hard to tell that the simple possibility of this happening is blowing minds and aggravating some players, especially in Houston. The fact is that what goes up must eventually come down and that´s just the way it is. I must admit that for a Brazilian like me, a middle class wanna be, the numbers are quite thrilling. However, there is no running from the fact that the challenges are many. You can have all the oil in the world…

OGX estimates that the total Parnaiba Basin natural gas potential at 15 trillion cubic feet. This discovery opens a new exploratory frontier in an onshore basin, the first in two decades. At the Campos Basin, OGX-18 well reports indication of hydrocarbons, adding to the excellent results of their ongoing exploratory campaign.OGX Petróleo e Gás announced that, through its subsidiary OGX Maranhão, has identified presence of gas in the Devonian section of well 1‐OGX‐16‐MA, in the block PN‐T‐68, in the onshore basin of Parnaiba. OGX Maranhão, an entity formed by OGX S.A. (66.6%) and MPX Energia S.A. (33.3%) is the operator and holds a 70% stake in this block, while Petra Energia S.A. holds the remaining 30%.

A new partnership between ANP (National Petroleum Agency), Ibama (National Environmental Agency) and the Brazilian Navy, plans to upgrade and expand existing E&P safety measures, in order to prevent major oil spills in Brazil. According to Haroldo Lima, Director of ANP, presently Petrobras elaborates the contingency programs for each platform, but now the Brazilian government will launch a nationwide contingency plan led by the navy and involving the regulatory agency and the environmental agency. Although Lima emphasizes that the current safety systems and regulatory systems in place on offshore platforms in Brazil are among the most advanced in the world, he admits there will certainly be upgrades due to the Deepwater Horizon tragedy at the GOM.