The recent pre-salt oil discoveries, in the Central Alto de Cabo Frio and Aram areas, open up a scenario of new extraction opportunities for Brazil. The discoveries are the result of the intensification of the extraction efforts by Petrobras, which plans to invest US$ 5,5 billion in this segment in the next five year. The statement comes from Petrobras Strategy executive manager, Eduardo Bordieri (photo), who presented the “Petrobras perspectives on O&G double resilience” panel during the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce (Bratecc) Annual Breakfast Offshore, in 4/05, a parallel event to Technology Conference (OTC), in Houston (USA).

Of all investiments planned in Petrobras Strategic Plan regarding new production frontiers, the Southeast Basins (including pre-salt prospects) will receive 58% of resources; the Equatorial Margin, 38%, and the other areas, 2%. “All Petrobras investments aim for double resilience: both economic (considering financially viable projects with the Brent price at US$ 35 in the long term) and environmental (projects with low carbon emmission)”, as Bordieri summarized.

Reduction in the oil rig building times 

Another highlight from the presentation was the significant reduction in the pre-salt oil rigs building times, while maintaining operational safety. Between 2018 and 2021, the company reduced the building times from 100 days to less than 70 days, in average. Petrobras' projection is to intensify these efforts and reach, before 2024, a reduction of 14% in these times - with the aid of its drilling efficiency and completion program, in addition to the use of new, faster and optimized models of oil rig setup.

“All reduction in oil rig building times equals preservation of operational safety, and reduction in costs tied to value generation. For reference, the oil rig activity represents about 30% of investiments in the Extraction and Production areas. We thus seek the best results in this activity, keeping safety and optimizing the oil rig setup in the fastest, most efficient way, always complying with the industry's best practices in safety”, states Bordieri.

Future scenario 

Petrobras will start the operation of 15 type FPSO platform-ships in the next five years. Of this total, ten will be installed in the pre-salt and five in the post-salt. According to Bordieri, the company has already put 32 FPSOs into operation throughout its most recent hustory, a record in the oil industry. "Petrobras is today the world leader in FPSO operation and is the company which will install the most platforms of this type in the next five years, generating value for our target publics ”, he concludes.