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Only Six Wells Have Been Drilled Since the Agency Was Established in 1988, According to the Seismic Study Spreadsheet.
The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) reported to CNN that 80 exploratory wells have already been drilled in the Amazonas River Basin, most of them dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
According to the agency, there has been a significant decrease in well drilling since the establishment of the ANP in 1988, with only three wells drilled after that date.
CNN received the spreadsheet with all the wells drilled in the basin. It indicates that the first well was drilled on January 27, 1970, and showed no traces of oil or gas, being completely dry.
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The Progression of Oil Exploration in the Region
This was the condition of the vast majority of the wells drilled in the region. In total, there were 65 dry wells with no indications and 32 abandoned due to ‘mechanical accident‘. Next were seven ‘abandoned for other reasons’, six as ‘subcommercial gas and oil producer’, two discoveries with natural gas, four with subcommercial oil discoveries, and two dry with signs of oil and natural gas.
The Historic Discovery of Oil and Natural Gas in the Amazonas River Basin
The data shows that after the first attempt in 1970, there were an additional 30 drillings until natural gas was found in one well in Amapá. Oil appeared for the first time in a well on December 22, 1978. Records indicate that, on December 22, 1978, oil was located for the first time. The records show that the well was not commercially exploitable (‘subcommercial oil producer’).
The Latest Advances in Oil Exploration
The last well was drilled on August 14, 2004, by BP Energy and was ‘dry with no indications’.
Studies and Activities Related to Oil and Natural Gas Exploration
According to the ANP, ‘in this first phase of the contracts, studies and activities (such as seismic studies, drilling of wells) etc. are carried out to identify the presence or absence of oil and gas and, if identified, evaluate whether the discoveries are commercial or not’ and, ‘at the end of this phase, the company decides, unilaterally, whether to continue with the block (total or partially) and convert it into a field (beginning of the production phase) or return it to the ANP’.
Current Situation of Oil Exploration in the Amazonas River Sedimentary Basin
The agency also reported that ‘there are no and have never been fields (contracts in the production phase) in the Amazonas River Basin’ and ‘consequently, there are no development wells in the region’.
Importance of Oil Exploration in the Amazonas River Sedimentary Basin
The ANP further stated that it is important to emphasize that ‘the last well drilled in the Amazonas River Sedimentary Basin occurred on October 15, 2011, by Petrobras, and was abandoned for other reasons’.
Media Associations Highlight Oil Exploration in the Amazon
Source: CNN Brazil
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