There is a possibility of recovering from 20 to 30 billion barrels of oil in Maranhão, noting that in the Pre-Salt, for example, there are 40 billion barrels

Brazil discovers a new pre-salt layer! A scientific study that highlights the vast oil potential in the northern oceanic fringe of the national territory, comprising Maranhão, Pará and Amapá, was delivered to the president of the Federation of Industries of Maranhão (Fiema), Edilson Baldez. Another good news! Petrobras drills a well and identifies hydrocarbons in the Campos Basin pre-salt layer

Read also

• From the branch of naval and offshore engineering based in Macaé, Enaval is receiving curriculum in several functions
• 100 job vacancies in elementary education in the function ASSISTANT for civil construction works, opened by the construction company Tenda
• Keppel announces exit in the construction of offshore platforms due to the crisis in the sector
• Leader in the manufacture of machines, engines and heavy vehicles, Caterpillar, has job openings in its factories

In the deep and ultra-deep waters of the Pará-Maranhão Basin, there are approximately 30 billion barrels of oil in risked recoverable prospective resources. This is what the document “A new 'Pre-Salt' in the Northern Arch of Brazilian Territory” says, authored by Allan Kardec Duailibe Barros Filho, professor at the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), Ronaldo Gomes Carmona, professor of Geopolitics at the Escola War Superior (ESG), and Pedro Victor Zalán, president of ZAG Oil Exploration Consulting.

“If the expectations, which we seek to describe in this Technical Note, are confirmed, especially the States of Maranhão, Pará and Amapá, will be able to benefit from large direct revenues (taxes and royalties) and indirect revenues (industrial and service sector development, with expressive generation of jobs) that could be generated by oil exploration and production. Wide prospects for regional development open up, starting with the fact that potential oil and gas production could generate energy abundance aimed at the industrialization of this region of the national territory”, says the study.

“The first step is to put it up for bids, because the land belongs to Brazil, so some government agency has to put it up for bids for companies to acquire. The National Petroleum Agency (ANP) does this. There are several bidding rounds. For example, this year there is the 17th round, which we didn't enter. We want to enter the 18th round”, explained Maranhão specialist Allan Kardec Barros Filho, who was once director of the ANP.

New pre-salt and environmental regulation

According to Edilson Baldez, the possibility of recovering 20 to 30 billion barrels of oil in Maranhão, emphasizing that in the Pre-Salt layer, for example, there are 40 billion barrels, would be a huge opportunity for regional development and for Brazil . “We believe that the exploration of these prospects found in the deep waters of the Pará-Maranhão Basin is an opportunity for regional development, with a large generation of jobs”.

The state of Maranhão was nominated to enter the 17th bidding round for areas in the Pará-Maranhão Basin, but the eight blocks suggested for oil exploration were excluded from the bidding, after a statement by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama ), which indicates the probable environmental unfeasibility of an undertaking that “imposes risks of oiling the coast of Pará and Maranhão and the Parcel of Manuel Luís”.

The study, however, contests the information, as “the Parcel would be in shallow waters, as well as corals, which are living beings that live in shallow waters. The waters we are talking about are deep, 4 thousand, 5 thousand meters. At a depth of 300 meters it is completely dark, the light does not reach it, and corals, for example, do not survive. In addition, we have technologies in the country. In oil exploration in Brazil, there is not even one case of oil spills”, says Alan Kardec.

The study suggests and recommends that the Brazilian energy authorities place exploratory blocks in the Pará-Maranhão sedimentary basin in the next auctions held by the National Petroleum Agency. “The exploration and production of this wealth would bring great benefits for national development and in particular for the State of Arco Norte in the national territory”.