Santos Basins News

On December 13, 193 blocks were auctioned in Brazil’s oil and gas licensing round, signaling strong optimism for the industry, according to Wood Mackenzie.Highlights from these bid rounds included:• The total amount in bonuses was US$85 million• 44 blocks were acquired in the Pelotas Basin, a frontier area. Petrobras will operate 29 and Chevron 15• All Basins managed to attract bids, even Parana Basin• A single Brazilian operator, Elysian, acquired 122 onshore blocks• BP, Equinor…

Shearwater GeoServices has won a six-month contract extension with seismic data firm CGG on its Nebula survey offshore Brazil and is nearing completion of work for CGG on its North Viking Graben survey.Shearwater has previously conducted work for the extensive Nebula survey in the Campos and Santos basins and the announced extension will run to the end of 2021.“We are pleased with this extension in this very promising exploration area, adding more work to Oceanic Sirius and to our overall backlog”, said Irene Waage Basili, CEO of Shearwater.In the North Sea, Shearwater's Amazon Conqueror vessel has recently completed its work for CGG on the North Viking Graben survey, where the SW Amundsen vessel continues.

A total of 67 floating production, storage and offloading (FPSOs) vessels are expected to start operations globally by 2025, with Australia leading the Asia-Pacific region.Globally, 67 planned and announced FPSOs are expected to start operations between 2019 and 2025, revealed the report 'Q1 2019 Global FPSO Industry' by GlobalData.Of these, 26 are planned and 41 are announced and of these Australia will account for all FPSOs planned for deployment in Oceania during 2019-2025.In Oceania, all the five upcoming FPSOs-Barossa, Browse 1, Browse 2, Buffalo (Re-Development), and Crux-are announced FPSOs, it said.Woodside Browse Ltd. leads among operators with two upcoming FPSOs, which are expected to commence operations during the outlook period.

Chevron Corp is considering taking part in an oil auction next month in Brazil as part of a consortium of companies, Brazilian oil regulator ANP said on Tuesday on its website. The auction, slated for March 29, will offer 70 blocks in the offshore Ceará, Potiguar, Sergipe-Alagoas, Campos and Santos basins and on-shore basins of Parnaíba and Paraná. The deadline to register for the auction is Wednesday. Chevron did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chevron did not bid in an October auction that opened Brazil's offshore pre-salt play to foreign operators and was dominated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc. However, Chevron is seeking to ramp up its production in Brazil.

With most offshore wells in Brazil located between 30 and 300 km from the coast, communication with offshore assets has not always been straightforward or reliable. Some operators and service providers still use traditional maritime VSAT services for coverage offshore Brazil, yet the introduction of Microwave radio has led to a much better level of quality and reliability in high-bandwidth voice and data communications. Claudio Paschoa, Maritime Reporter’s correspondent in Brazil had an interesting conversation with Arild Fotland, head of Ceragon’s Oil and Gas Division, about the advantages of Microwave radio communications for offshore operations in Brazil. Fotland joined Ceragon in 1978 and has been stationed all over the world.

The 2015 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), to be held May 4–7 at NRG Park, will kick off on Sunday, May 3 in Houston with the Annual OTC Dinner to honor the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Awards, this year recognizing Elmer (Bud) Danenberger III for individual achievement, the Petrobras pre-salt development for corporate achievement, and Ray R. Ayers with the Heritage Award. Th eOTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals will honor Elmer (Bud) Danenberger III for his contributions to offshore safety and environmental protection.

Consolidated Oil and Gas Petrobras in Brazil and abroad, production amounted to 2 million 795 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe) in October. This volume was 0.5% higher than in September, which was 2 million 781 thousand boe. Oil production in Brazil grew by 0.4% compared to September, and reaches a new high. Oil production from Petrobras in Brazil reached in October average of 2 million 126 thousand barrels / day (bpd), 0.4% higher than what occurred in September, 2 million 118 thousand bpd. This volume represents a new record, surpassing the previous high, reached in December 2010 at 4800 bpd. October was the ninth consecutive month of growth in oil production company in the country.

OOS International B.V., a company providing offshore accommodation services, announced that with support from CIMC Capital it has secured a four-plus-four-year charter contract for two semisubmersible crane and accommodation platforms for Petrobras Brazil. OOS International has scheduled the delivery of the two vessels to Petrobras at the start 2014. The OOS Gretha DP3 can accommodate 618 persons on board and sister vessel the OOS Prometheus can accommodate 500 persons on board.

Latin America will account for half of the projected floating production Capex over the next five years according to a new Douglas-Westwood report. their fleets of floating production systems. A key driver is Petrobras’s multi-FPS developments in its pre-salt fields in the Campos and Santos basins. Douglas-Westwood’s latest edition of the World Floating Production Market Forecast details the considerable opportunities in the sector, examines the commercial, economic and geographical factors of influence and forecasts a  total of 134 installations over the 2012-2016 period, representing a global Capex of $68bn. “The deepwater basins off West Africa, Brazil and in the US Gulf of Mexico have become established as the focus areas for FPS developments.

GE (NYSE: GE) Oil & Gas has announced that its Wellstream business, acquired in March, has been awarded a long-term, flexible pipe and subsea equipment logistics services contract by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), one of the largest companies in Latin America which also controls significant energy assets in 18 countries worldwide. The long-term contract is initially valued in excess of $200M. To perform the long-term contract, GE will build a dedicated 55,000 sq. meter, $90M investment Wellstream flexible pipe and subsea equipment Logistics Base in Niterói, a commercial hub located 14 kms outside Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras will use the new facility to support its development of pre-salt oil and gas field projects in the Campos and Santos basins offshore Brazil.

BMT Scientific Marine Services (BMT) is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Trading as BMT Scientific Marine Services Ltda, BMT will operate in Rio de Janeiro as an extension of its existing offices in California and Houston. The local presence provided by this new base in South America is integral to BMT's ongoing effort to enhance product sales, delivery and service support to Petrobras and other oil and gas firms in Brazil. BMT's enhanced presence in the region is supported by a Portuguese language website at www.scimar.com/Brazil.

MarketResearch.com announced the addition of GBI Research's new report "Offshore Drilling Industry in the Americas to 2015 - New Deepwater Discoveries and Stringent Offshore Regulations Affecting the Future Industry Outlook," to their collection of Energy market reports. The report provides forecasts for the offshore drilling industry in the Americas to 2015. The report also provides segmental forecasts of the offshore drilling market by water depth and highlights the major countries in the region. An in-depth analysis of the key trends, challenges, and the competitive scenario is also included. Offshore drilling expenditure in the Americas is expected to increase to 2015 after a dip in the previous two years, according to GBI Research.

Crowley Marine Services and Triunfo Operadora Portuaria Ltd., intend to form a joint venture to operate a deepwater logistics base in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. GAIA Comercial Exterior will participate as Crowley's Brazilian representative for energy logistics services. The partners announced the joint venture during a signing ceremony at Rio's prestigious Naval Club. The deepwater logistics base will be located at Triunfo's marine terminal on Guanabara Bay and will manage the complex logistics and transportation required to support deepwater exploration and production in the Campos and Santos basins of Brazil. The base will feature over 300 m of dedicated dock space with 7.5 m draft, as well as significant open and covered warehousing, cranes, and material handling equipment.

Schlumberger announced its new seismic vessel, Geco Eagle, has successfully been deployed for her first acquisition job and has broken several world records in the process. The vessel left the shipyard where it was built in Bergen, Norway, and traveled halfway around the globe to Brazil - a distance of 6,359 miles - to take up her first job in the Campos and Santos basins on behalf of Amerada Hess and partners. This is the most remote startup ever undertaken by any seismic acquisition vessel. Geco Eagle then took fewer than seven days between deploying the first streamer section and recording the first commercial 10-streamer production. Now in full production, Geco Eagle continues to set new standards for the seismic industry.