Petrobras Announces New Oil Discovery in Pre-Salt Santos Basin

Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petrobras has made a significant new oil discovery at an exploration well in the pre-salt Santos Basin off the coast of Brazil, South America.

The company has identified the presence of “high-quality” oil with no contaminants in the 3-BRSA-1396D-SPS exploratory well in the Aram block within the Santos Basin. This block was acquired in March 2020 in the sixth bidding round, under the production sharing regime, with Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) as the manager.

Located 248 kilometers from the city of Santos-SP, the well lies at a water depth of 1,952 meters. Petrobras, as the operator of the block, holds a working interest of 80%, along with CNPC (20%).

The Aram consortium plans to begin laboratory analyses to characterize the conditions of the reservoirs and fluids found, which will allow the evaluation of the area’s potential. Petrobras intends to spud two more wells and undertake a drill stem test as part of the appraisal plan (AP), with a deadline in 2027.

Additional data acquisition activities may also be carried out, based on the planning and contractual obligations established with the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP).

After confirming hydrocarbons in the 4-BRSA-1395-SPS exploratory well of the Aram block, Petrobras has been actively searching for more hydrocarbons. The company recently made another discovery in the Campos Basin pre-salt arena.