ANP publishes summary of the development areas of Raia Manta and Raia Pintada

ANP published the executive summary of the new development areas of Raia Manta and Raia Pintada, originating from recent declarations of commerciality for block C-M-539, in the Campos Basin.

The block is operated by the company Equinor Energy do Brasil Ltda., which sent the commerciality declarations to the ANP on 9/20.

Block C-M-539, arising from the 7th Bidding Round, is located in the southwestern part of the Campos Basin, sector SC-AP4, approximately 200 km off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in ultra-deep water depths, varying between 2,500m and 2,900m and a total area of 707,673 km².

The main objective of the Raia Manta and Raia Pintada development areas is the production of natural gas in the Lagoa Feia group (Aptiano).

The declaration of commerciality means that a company (or consortium) holding a contract for exploration and production (E&P) of oil and natural gas has decided to begin developing the retained area with a view to production. After this declaration, the retained area becomes considered a “development area” until a Development Plan is approved, at which point it is considered a “producing field”.

The implementation of the declaration of commerciality will still be carried out by the ANP, based on compliance with the determinations of ANP Resolution No. 845/2021.

In the exploration phase (first phase of contracts), companies carry out exploratory activities to discover deposits with signs of hydrocarbons and identify the block’s oil potential. This includes acquisition of seismic, gravimetric, magnetometric, geochemical data, drilling and well evaluation, among others, as provided for in a Minimum Exploratory Program (PEM) or in other plans agreed with the ANP to comply with the rules of the bidding notice. If the companies conclude that the discovery is economically viable, they declare the commerciality to the ANP of the area retained for the evaluation of the deposit.

The declaration of commerciality presented to the ANP by the companies must follow the terms of ANP Resolution No. 845/2021 and be accepted by the Agency after approval of the additional documents sent. One of the determinations of this resolution is that, when declaring commerciality, the name of land development areas must use the names of animals from the Brazilian terrestrial fauna and, when dealing with maritime areas, the names of animals from the marine fauna.