The board of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) approved phase 1 of the Development Plan (PD) of the shared deposit of the Bacalhau and Bacalhau Norte fields, in the Santos Basin. The operator of the area, the Norwegian Equinor, forecasts about US$ 8.5 billion in investments in this stage of the undertaking, with the expectation of generating 400 new jobs and collecting US$ 29 billion in government taxes.
When approving the development plan, the ANP determined that the production of the first oil in phase 1 of the field must take place by July 1, 2024. The PD provides for several activities for the southern part of the deposit, such as the drilling of 19 wells, in addition to installation of its own FPSO. The consortium led by Equinor decided to reject gas as a development strategy, in order to allow early production in the second half of 2024.
The director of the ANP, Symone Araújo, who was the rapporteur in the process of evaluating the PD within the agency, said that phase 2 of Bacalhau is still in the preliminary phase, requiring further studies and evaluations.
Equinor should submit a preliminary study for the development of phase 2 by December 31, 2022, accompanied by the most current simulation model available and the updating of technical and market assumptions for a scenario for using the gas. The selection of the phase 2 concept is due to be presented on December 31, 2024.
“Considering the importance of making a gas pipeline for the export of this natural gas in a timely manner, so that the forecast of the first oil is not delayed, in a gas export scenario, the ANP should evaluate semiannually on the progress of technical and environmental studies, markets around the possible routes for harnessing natural gas and natural gas liquid, ”explained Araújo.
Source: PetroNoticias
Brazil Energy Insight 
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