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Petrobras is focusing on the Campos Basin, investing heavily in revitalizing mature wells. With advanced technologies, the state-owned company intends to increase production and compensate for environmental problems in areas such as the mouth of the Amazon.
Petrobras looks to the past as the future of oil exploration in Brazil looks uncertain.
With a decades-long history of deep-water exploration, the state-owned company is now betting on revitalization of the Campos Basin, located between the coasts of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.
This decision, however, is not driven solely by nostalgia: there is a survival and growth strategy at play, since the license to explore new areas on the north coast, such as the mouth of the Amazon, remains without environmental approval.
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A Petrobras strategy with the Campos Basin stands out at a time when the state-owned company is facing difficulties in expanding its operations on the country's northern coast.
The Equatorial Margin, which includes the mouth of the Amazon, has already been denied once by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), blocking a project that could generate 350 jobs.
Second The Globe, the company then decided to redirect its efforts to the most mature production fields, investing in cutting-edge technologies and recovery techniques to oil extraction still present in areas explored since the 1970s.
An ambitious recovery for the Campos Basin
Under the leadership of Magda Chambriard, president of Petrobras and reservoir engineer, the state-owned company intends to invest massively in the Campos Basin, with long-term planning to expand reserves.
According to the executive, there is significant production potential in the region, with the possibility of removing up to the same amount of oil and gas already extracted in the last 50 years.
To revitalize the Campos Basin, Petrobras has invested in modern well recovery techniques and in reuse of old platforms, who had their retirement suspended.
Today, it is estimated that the region has a recovery factor of just 17%, which suggests a considerable volume of oil still available for extraction.
“Campos’ production has a recovery factor of 17%. With current techniques, the expectation is to maintain production for another 40 to 50 years, extracting the same volume produced to date,” said Magda Chambriard during a recent event.
Billion-dollar goals and investments by 2028
The Campos Basin, currently responsible for around 20% of Petrobras' own production — equivalent to 450 thousand barrels per day — is expected to gain even more importance.
According to O Globo, the goal is to increase production to 600 thousand barrels per day by 2028, a considerable leap that will require investments estimated at more than US$ 22 billion.
In Petrobras' new business plan, valid from 2025 to 2029, the Campos Basin is consolidated as a top priority, with the company planning a set of nine areas that should receive contributions and new exploration opportunities.
These investments will be directed both towards the reactivation of mature fields and towards the development of new extraction techniques.
Petrobras is betting on technologies such as 3D and 4D seismic to map the reserves in detail, in addition to the use of artificial intelligence and reinjection of gas and water to facilitate extraction.
According to experts, the efficiency of these technologies can increase the recovery rate to up to 40%, bringing the Campos Basin closer to levels observed in other producing regions in the world, such as the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea.
Petrobras: challenges and alternatives for an uncertain future
Despite the recovery potential, Petrobras faces significant challenges in executing this strategy.
High costs and the lack of new equipment are obstacles highlighted by industry analysts.
According to Luiz Hayum, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, the new platforms were around 40% more expensive since 2021, which makes it difficult to hire essential equipment for operations.
Another problem is the long term of contracts for platforms that have been reactivated.
Platforms like the P-51 in Marlim Sul, which produces 30 thousand barrels per day, will have their useful life extended until 2052, despite the initial forecast of ending operations in 2034.
The cost of the extension, estimated at 600 million U.S. $, is yet another demonstration of Petrobras' commitment to the region, but at the same time it represents a financial risk.
Experts note that profit margins for mature fields are lower, which increases pressure on Petrobras.
According to Rodrigo Almeida, an analyst at Santander, the revitalization of the Campos Basin is part of a growing trend in Brazil, where Oil companies are being encouraged to optimize their mature fields amid environmental stalemate in new exploration areas.
For Almeida, this revitalization strategy is an “inevitable movement” due to the challenge in obtaining permits and the increasing costs.
A global-scale project and new technological frontiers
According to the revitalization program released by Petrobras, the Campos Basin represents the world's largest deepwater mature asset recovery project.
This magnitude is a competitive advantage for the state-owned company and, at the same time, a bet on a more sustainable production model, which requires less basic infrastructure and reuses old wells.
In the view of industry consultants, one of the main Petrobras' strengths is the experience in deep waters, combined with the use of cutting-edge technologies to extend the useful life of the fields.
With advanced reservoir analysis techniques, such as 3D and 4D seismic, the company can monitor the movement of oil underground, identifying areas of potential increased productivity.
This technological front, highlighted by the newspaper O Globo, also relies on the use of artificial intelligence to optimize processes and reduce waste, in addition to the reinjection of gas to increase the pressure of the wells.
The case of the Marlim field is a practical example: Petrobras estimates that revitalization will allow the extraction of 860 million additional barrels until the end of the concession in 2048.
How about producing pre-salt from the Campos basin?