MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Exxon Mobil drilling offshore in Brazil's Sergipe/Alagoas basin with a potential of a billion barrels

If exploration is successful, it would be Exxon’s first oil discovery in Brazil as an operator

United States Exxon Mobil Corp. is drilling in a new area offshore in the northeast of Brazil that could have as much as a billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent, according to its partner Murphy Oil.

Murphy Oil CEO Roger Jenkins gave the update on the Cutthroat-1 prospect offshore Brazil in a presentation to investors.

If exploration is successful, it would be Exxon’s first oil discovery in Brazil as an operator. Exxon leads the prospect in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin, northeast of Brazil, with a 50% stake. It is joined by Brazilian producer Enauta with 30% and Houston-based Murphy Oil Corp with 20%.

Exxon kicked off drilling activity on the Cutthroat-1 prospect on Feb. 20 and should conclude in the coming weeks, Jenkins said.

This is the first exploratory well of the nine blocks the three companies hold together in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin. The Cutthroat area has an upward gross resource potential between 500 million to 1.050 billion barrels of equivalent oil, he said.