February 16, 2018 by Felipe Maciel
Shell has entered into a contract with Petroserv for the lease of the semi-submersible rig, Catarina, as of April of this year. The unit will conduct well drilling campaigns in the fields of Parque das Conchas and Bijupirá and Salema, all in the Campos Basin. This is the first time that the oil company rents a drilling rig for a Brazilian company.
Parque das Conchas is operated by Shell with a 50% stake and ONGC (27%) and QP (23%). The area produces from the Espírito Santo FPSO, chartered with SBM Offshore, which is interconnected to 22 production wells, 14 in the Argonauta field, seven in the Ostra field, and one in Abalone. Together, the three fields produced, as of November last year, 45,800 barrels per day of oil, according to data from the National Petroleum Agency (ANP).
The Bijupirá and Salema fields in the Campos Basin produce from 16 wells linked to the Fluminense FPSO, 12 in Bijupirá and four in Salema. The fields together produced 8,400 barrels per day in November, according to ANP data.
How many drill rigs do IOCs have in Brazil?
With the contract closed by Shell, the number of rigs contracted by foreign oil companies in the country is two. The West Saturn drill rig, chartered by Statoil with Seadrill to drill a well and test an area of the BM-S-8 block, where the Carcará discovery is located in the Santos Basin. Depending on the results, the company may exercise the option of using the rig to drill another seven wells.
Who also has plans to drill in the Santos Basin is Total. The company currently licenses eight wells in the Lapa field, also in the pre-salt cluster of the Santos Basin. Total bought 35 percent of the area’s operation in a business strategy that involved a number of other assets, including thermal plants and an LNG terminal, and was valued at $ 2.2 billion.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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