Petrobras received the environmental license from Ibama for drilling two exploratory wells in the BM-POT-17 maritime block, in deep waters of the Potiguar Basin, on the Brazilian Equatorial Margin. The first well will be drilled 52 km off the coast.
Drilling is expected to begin in the coming weeks, after the rig arrives at the location. With the exploratory research, the company intends to obtain more geological information about the area to assess the economic viability and extent of the oil discovery made in 2013 in the Pitu well. There is no oil production at this stage.
“We are very optimistic and excited about the resumption of new projects by Petrobras. The Brazilian Equatorial Margin has significant oil potential and will be fundamental for the company’s future, guaranteeing the supply of oil necessary for the country’s development and financing the energy transition”, said Jean Paul Prates.
Petrobras met all the requirements and procedures requested by IBAMA, in compliance with and care for the rigor that this type of environmental licensing requires. As the last stage of evaluation, the company carried out, between 18 and 20/9, an on-site simulation, called Pre-Operational Assessment (APO), through which Ibama proved Petrobras’ ability to provide an immediate and robust response. to an accidental event involving an oil spill.
The company had not carried out a Pre-Operational Assessment since 2013, when it obtained the first license for the same area, in Pitu. “During this simulated exercise, we were able to demonstrate the performance of all resources reported to Ibama during the environmental licensing process. Over the course of a decade, we have evolved a lot and continually improved our capacity to respond to emergencies. We are even better prepared to act in response and also very confident in our performance in preventing accidents, to prevent these resources from needing to be used”, informed Flaubert Machado, Executive Manager of Health, Environment and Safety at Petrobras.
In total, more than 1000 people, four aircraft, five ambulances, 70 land vehicles and more than 60 vessels were mobilized for simulated containment and oil collection, coastal protection and monitoring, rescue and assistance to fauna.
To prove the robustness of its resources to assist wildlife, Petrobras put into action, during the APO, more than 80 professionals, including biologists and veterinarians, in addition to 300 environmental agents, more than 30 task forces working at sea and on beaches , nine vessels dedicated to monitoring and treating animals, in addition to fauna reception and stabilization units along the beaches.
As part of the fauna service plan proposed to IBAMA, the company has a Fauna Rehabilitation and Depetrolization Center (CRD), in Caucaia, Ceará. The Center will remain on standby throughout Petrobras’ operations in the region.
The company will apply all of its technical expertise, acquired over 70 years of leadership in the Brazilian oil and gas sector, to the Potiguar Basin and other basins on the Equatorial Margin. “Our journey over the last few decades proves that Petrobras has all the technical and economic conditions to make this new frontier a reality – like the results we achieved in deep and ultra-deep waters in other basins, which consolidated our global leadership in this segment. ”, declared Joelson Mendes, director of Exploration and Production at Petrobras.
The company is prepared to operate in the region with the most rigorous safety standards and response plans to respond to emergency situations. On the Equatorial Margin alone, there are four Environmental Defense Centers (CDAs), located in Pará, Maranhão, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte; in addition to nine other CDAs, advanced bases and emergency response centers, distributed throughout the rest of Brazil. All of these structures are properly equipped for prompt response in the event of accidental events involving oil spills at sea.
Equatorial Margin
The Potiguar Basin covers maritime portions of the states of Rio do Grande do Norte and Ceará and is part of the so-called Brazilian Equatorial Margin, which extends between the states of Amapá and Rio Grande do Norte. The region is considered one of the world’s newest and most promising frontiers in deep and ultra-deep waters.
Recent discoveries announced in regions adjacent to these borders, especially in neighboring Guyana and Suriname, indicate relevant oil production potential for the Brazilian Equatorial Margin.
The new Brazilian borders are essential for guaranteeing national energy security and sovereignty, in a context of energy transition and low-carbon economy.
The project to evaluate the Pitu discovery, in the Potiguar Basin, is foreseen in the current Petrobras Strategic Plan, for the period between 2023 and 2027. The company intends to drill 16 exploratory wells in the Equatorial Margin, in five years. The investment planned for the region is around 3 billion dollars, directed towards research projects and investigation of the region’s oil potential.
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