1,200 Oil Wells Will Be Drilled by 2023, According to ANP

The Estimates That ANP Provides Are Based on Forecasts of Activities in Blocks and Fields and Production Volumes of the Wells and Fields Declared by the Companies.

According to recently released information from ANP, the drilling of 818 onshore wells and 393 offshore wells is expected between 2019 and 2023. The expectations are for the investment plans of operators with exploratory blocks and production fields contracted in Brazil. This year, Petrobras began production at P-67 (Lula) and P-76 and P-77 (Búzios) and P-68 (Berbigão) is expected.

If realized, subsidies are estimated at around R$ 3.2 billion in 2019 for exploration wells. If production projects are included, more than R$ 130 billion in drilling and completion is expected by 2023.

With all investments in platforms, collection systems, and other expenses, the expectation for the period is R$ 326 billion.

The estimates that ANP provides are based on forecasts of activities in blocks and fields and production volumes of the wells and fields declared by the companies, and may be subject to changes due to the uncertainties inherent in the considered variables, as well as updates and revisions of these estimates by the operators.

The forecast for this year is to drill 169 onshore wells and 78 offshore. Only 80 onshore and 24 offshore wells have been drilled up to the first week of this month.

The agency’s survey assumes the drilling of 16 exploration wells offshore and 23 onshore; however, so far, five offshore and 11 onshore have been started.

Equinor continues its campaign in Carcará and Shell, in the South of Gato do Mato, projects in the pre-salt of the Santos Basin. Petrobras resumed its deepwater project in the Sergipe Basin, where it seeks a partner to develop giant oil and natural gas reserves.

There is an expectation of four platforms starting operations this year and ten more between 2020 and 2023, which will require the 315 wells included in the forecast, according to ANP’s survey.

In addition to the new platforms, the forecast of wells is associated with the development (ramp-up) of already installed systems, such as the FPSO Cidade de Caraguatatuba in the Lapa field, which has had its operation taken over by Total E&P.

In onshore fields, the largest exploration campaign is by Eneva in Parnaíba, which started five exploration wells this year. The company plans to issue R$ 1 billion in infrastructure debentures for exploratory investments and the development of natural gas fields integrated with power generation in Maranhão.

Alvopetro and Imetame (Recôncavo), BGM (Espírito Santo), and Rosneft (Solimões) complete the list of companies exploring Brazilian onshore in 2019.

There are opportunities in the Brazilian market for operator dilution, with projects that are still not formalized and, therefore, not captured in ANP’s survey. This is the case for companies buying fields from Petrobras, both offshore and onshore, and new auctions scheduled to occur during the period.

From September 5th, ANP started providing annual forecasts on development and production activities of oil and natural gas for the next five years. Consultations available on the agency’s website.

by – epbr

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