MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petrobras/Repsol strike gas in Santos basin shallow waters

The Consortium formed by Brazil's government managed oil and gas corporation Petrobras and Spain's Repsol announced the discovery of a “thick column of natural gas” in the offshore Santos basin, southeast of Brazil.

An official release indicates that Petrobras, the operator with 63%, and Repsol, 37%, working in Block BM-S-7 drilled a well (6-SPS-53), located in shallow waters in the southern portion of the Santos Basin, State of São Paulo, proving the presence of "a thick column of gas in reservoirs above the salt layer". The well is located some 210 km southeast of the city of Santos, in water depths ranging 214 meters. Drilling the well is part of the exploratory activities for the Assessment Plan of well 1-BSS-68, as approved by the NPA, which has determined "the presence of gas in sandy reservoirs in the post-salt section". The discovery was confirmed with tests carried out in reservoirs located as of a depth of 3.970 meters. The Consortium will continue exploratory activities, with tests to be carried out in the gas intervals that have already been discovered. Only then will it be possible to declare the field is commercially viable. Petrobras/Repsol underline the discovery is very important because of the potential to