Petrobras Stops Chevron Plan to Drill Offshore Brazil

By Alexandra Alper and Marta Nogueira
Wednesday, October 31, 2018

A decision by Petrobras not to invest in drilling new wells has derailed Chevron Corp's plan to resume exploration in a Brazilian offshore field, people familiar with the matter said.

Chevron, which operates the field with a 52 percent stake, approved the drilling plan but Petrobras, which holds a 30 percent stake nixed the move, according to two people close to the talks.

Brazil's state-controlled oil company, officially known as Petroleo Brasileiro, is prioritizing development of pre-salt offshore resources where billions of barrels of oil lie under a thick layer of salt below the ocean floor, the two people said. The Frade field is post salt and has less oil than pre-salt fields.

Petrobras and Schlumberger NV, which planned to drill six wells for some $20 million, could not immediately be reached for comment. Chevron declined to comment.

Brazilian energy company Petro Rio SA said on Monday it bought the remaining 12 percent from Frade Japao. Petro Rio SA CEO Nelson Queiroz told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday the company would be interested in buying Petrobras' stake.

"We see extending the life of the field as a positive, drilling new wells," he said.

Chevron and Petrobras halted exploration in the Frade field after a 2011 spill that led to criminal charges and a civil lawsuit.

Petrobras, one of the world's most indebted oil companies, has slashed outlays and focused its shrunken capital expenditure budget on developing stakes in the world class pre-salt play in Latin America's top producer. Other oil majors are also spending top dollar to lock in stakes to the area to replenish shrunken reserves amid rising oil prices.


(Writing by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Categories: Industry News Vessels South America Oil Offshore Deepwater FPSO Floating Production Offshore Energy Drilling

Related Stories

Keyfield Ventures into Indonesia’s Oil and Gas Market with New Partner

Velesto’s Jack-Up Rig Up for Drilling Job Offshore Vietnam

ABS Greenlights SHI’s Multi-Purpose Deepwater LNG Floating Unit

TMC Books Compressors Orders for FPSO and LNG Vessels

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

Sunda Energy Starts Environmental Consultation for Chuditch-2 Well Drilling Plans

Hanwha Ocean Marks Entry into Deepwater Drilling Market with First Drillship

Woodside to Shed Some Trinidad and Tobago Assets for $206M

Keel Laying for Wind Flyer Trimaran Crew Boat

Second Hai Long Substation Heads to Project Site Offshore Taiwan

Current News

China's Sinopec Laucnhes $690M Hydrogen Venture Capital Funds

CIP, ACEN Partner Up for First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in Philippines

Valeura Concludes Eight-Well Drilling Campaign in Gulf of Thailand

Three Dead in Chevron's Angolan Oil Patform Fire

BW Opal FPSO Vessel set for Work off Australia

Keyfield Ventures into Indonesia’s Oil and Gas Market with New Partner

Fire Contained at Vietnamese Oil Platform Undergoing Decommissioning (Video)

Velesto’s Jack-Up Rig Set for Drilling Job off Indonesia

Petronas, Inpex Secure Oil and Gas Exploration Rights off Indonesia

Mubadala Energy Open to Sell Andaman Gas for Domestic Use

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com