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A significant oil discovery has been made in an ultra-deep water block off Brazil where state- owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Videocon Industries together hold 40% interest.
Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, which is the operator of the block, has confirmed the Farfan-1 oil discovery in the ultra-deep waters of the Segipe-Alagoas basin, off Brazil, Videocon said in a statement.
The state-owned firm has confirmed excellent productivity of good quality crude following a drilling test.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has completed a test in well 3-BRSA-1178D-SES (3-SES-176D), informally known as Farfan 1, to test the production capacity of the accumulation in the BM-SEAL-11 concession area of Block SEAL-M-426.
Based on an evaluation of 30 metres of turbidite sandstones, the test found good quality oil with a density of 38 degrees API in a "good" reservoir with "excellent productivity", the statement said.
Farfan-1 is located 104 km north of Aracaju, the capital of the north-eastern Brazilian state of Sergipe. It lies in a water depth of 2476 metres, about 5 km from the Farfan discovery well.
Petrobras is the operator of the block with a 60% interest while IBV Brasil (a 50:50 joint venture of BPCL and Videocon) holds the remaining 40% stake.
A 51-metre reservoir was discovered at Farfan-1 well, a year after a 44-metre hydrocarbon column was found in Farfan a year ago.
The discovery has been estimated to hold more than 1 billion barrels of oil.
Petrobras chief executive Maria das Gracas Foster had previously said the BM-SEAL-11 concession could produce at least 100,000 barrels per day of oil, starting in 2018.
