Tupi oil field
| Tupi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Brazil |
| Region | Latin America |
| Location/block(s) | BM S 11 |
| Offshore/onshore | Offshore |
| Coordinates | 25°30′S 43°30′W / 25.5°S 43.5°W[1] |
| Operator(s) | Petrobras |
| Partners | BG Group, Galp Energia |
| Field history | |
| Discovery | 2006 |
| Start of production | Expected 2010/11 |
| Production | |
| Current production of oil (barrels per day) | Expected 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d) |
| Producing formations | Barremian, Lower Aptian Guaratiba Formation |
Tupi oil field is a large oil field located in the Santos Basin, 250 km (160 mi) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[2] The field was named in honor of the Tupi people and is considered to be Western Hemisphere's largest oil discovery of the last 30 years.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
The field was discovered in October 2006 by BG Group stating that the well flowed 4,900 barrels per day (780 m3/d) of sweet 30 °API crude oil, 0.7 sulphur content and 4.3×106 cu ft/d (120,000 m3/d) of gas from a deep pre-salt reservoir on a 5/8th inch choke.[4][5] Discovery of Tupi field would make Brazil an emerging global oil power.[3] Former president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the Tupi field second independence for Brazil.[6] The upper estimate of 8 billion barrels (1.3 km3) of recoverable oil would be enough to meet the total global demand for crude oil for about three months at the current (2008) global extraction rate of around 85 million barrels per day (13,500,000 m3/d). In January 2008 Petrobras announced the discovery of the Jupiter field, a huge natural gas and condensate (very light oil) field which could equal the Tupi oil field in size. It lies 37 km (23 mi) east of Tupi.[7]
[edit] Ownership
BM-S-11 block which contains Tupi field is operated by Petrobras with controlling 65% of the stake while BG Group holds a 25% and Galp Energia holds 10% of the share.[3] As per Bear Stearns estimates, the value of oil in the block ranges from $25 billion to $60 billion.[8] BM-S-11 also includes Tupi Sul, Iara and Iracema fields.[4]
[edit] Production
On April 22, 2009, Bergesen Worldwide Offshore and Petrobas let up the first crude oil from test well at Tupi field (the pressure at the riser was around 200 bars, so there was no need to pump). The celebration ceremony for beginning of production was held aboard the BW Cidade de Sao Vicente floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) on May 1. The president was rumored to visit, but did not show up. The first producing well will provide output of 14,000 barrels per day (2,200 m3/d) while the second well is expected to produce 15,000 barrels per day (2,400 m3/d). Petrobras plans to produce an initial total of 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d) and 4 million cubic meters (cm) of gas by December 2010.[3] By 2020, Petrobras expects to produce up to 500,000 barrels per day (79,000 m3/d).[3] Full field development may include up to 300 producing and injector wells with total gross oil production reaching 1,000,000 barrels per day (160,000 m3/d) and 1×109 cu ft (28,000,000 m3)d of gas.[4][9] Drilling of first 15 wells has cost $1 billion. It is estimated that the total field cost will come to $50–$100 billion due to complexity of geological formation. Up to 12 FPSO's might be needed to produce oil at Tupi.[10]
[edit] Geology
The field was discovered in a geological formation known as the Pre-salt layer and is a new petroleum play which is thought to contain significant volumes of oil and natural gas. The crude oil is an intermediate or medium gravity oil of 28-30 °API, which corresponds to a specific gravity around 0.88. The Tupi crude oil is considered sweet, which means that the sulfur content is less than 0.5 percent sulfur by weight.
[edit] Reservoir
The Tupi field lies below 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) of water and then 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) of salt, sand and rocks.[3] Petrobras says this field is "comparable to the most important" in the world. The Tupi accumulation, in block BM-S-11 of the Santos basin, contains at least 5 billion barrels (0.79 km3) of recoverable oil which could increase Brazil's reserves by 62%. By comparison, Norway has 8.5 billion of proved oil reserves.[2] This would make it twice the size of Roncador, previously Brazil's largest field. Brazil's proven reserves stand at 14.4 billion barrels (2.29 km3) which makes it 17th largest oil producer in the world.[8]. Discovery of Tupi revolutionized oil exploration in Brazil: it is a pre-salt discovery – held in rocks beneath a salt layer that, in places, reaches thicknesses of over 2,000 meters. Until now, Brazil's reserves have been found in post-salt formations – above the salt layer. Recent estimates have pushed the total to greater than 30 Gbbl (4.8×109 m3) equivalent, though Petrobras has not confirmed the highest estimate.[11] These estimates are being put into severe doubt by impartial analysts.[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Pre-Salt Reservoirs Offshore Brazil: Perspectives and Challenges". November 2007. http://www2.petrobras.com.br/ri/pdf/2007_Formigli_Miami_pre-sal.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ a b Caminada, Carlos; Blount, Jeb (2007-11-08). "Petrobras' Tupi Oil Field May Hold 8 Billion Barrels (Update6)". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&refer=news&sid=arYFojM6udEI. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ a b c d e f Jeff Flick (2009-05-01). "Petrobras Pumps First Crude from Massive Tupi Field Offshore Brazil". Rigzone. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=75679. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ a b c "Brazil" (Press release). BG Group. 2008. http://www.bg-group.com/OurBusiness/WhereWeOperate/Pages/Brazil.aspx. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
- ^ U.S. Energy Information Administration
- ^ "Tupi oil is 'second independence for Brazil'". Upstream Online (NHST Media Group). 2009-05-04. http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article177455.ece. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ Duffy, Gary (2008-01-22). "'Huge' gas field found off Brazil". BBC News Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7201744.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ a b Alan Clendenning (2007-11-11). "Offshore discovery could make Brazil major oil exporter". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-11-09-brazil-oil_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ Cortes, Katia; Marinho, Helder (2007-11-08). "Brazil’s Tupi Field May Yield 1 Million Barrels a Day (Update4)". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aUMFYycbcOjg. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ Offshore Technology. Tupi Oil Field. Brazil
- ^ "BG Group: Tupi could hold more than 30 billion BOE". http://www.energycurrent.com/index.php?id=2&storyid=8745. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ "The Economist: Oil and Brazil, What Lies Beneath". 2008-04-16. http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11043022. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
