Page 34: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2014)

I n an effort to spread out oil and gas production to other parts of the country and increase overall oil production, Brazil has fi nally intensi- fi ed hydrocarbon exploration along its northeastern and northern coasts. These are some of the poorest regions in the country and infrastructure for oil and gas exploration is minimal, yet signifi - cant discoveries and seismic indicators of large reservoirs are tantalizing and have attracted major local and foreign investors. Potential for oil discoveries in the area is proven, yet players will be faced by many challenges offshore and on land in order to uncork reservoirs at the Northern Frontier.

The Northern Frontier

Brazil’s Northern Frontier is divided between fi ve states; Amapá, Pará and

Maranhão, Piauí and Rio Grande do

Norte and has fi ve offshore sedimen- tary basins; Foz do Amazonas Basin,

Pará-Maranhão Basin, Barreirinhas

Basin, Ceará Basin and Potiguar Ba- sin. The ANP’s (National Petroleum

Agency) 11th round of bidding, which took place in May 2013, fi nally opened up the Northern Frontier, also known as the Equatorial Margin (EM), to intensive exploration, although Petrobras (Brazil’s

National Operator) and partners have been drilling and producing on a limited scale in these regions for more than a de- cade. Magda Chambriard, ANP Director, explained that, “The Brazilian equatorial margin basins are classifi ed by the ANP as exploration frontiers and have promis- ing potential for discoveries of turbidite sandstones (formations that form oil res- ervoirs post-salt) from the Upper Creta- ceous, especially in deep water.”

Spectrum ASA has been leading seis- mic surveys in the region for some years now and analysis of the seismic data con- fi rms that prospectivity potential is high because the source rock, the migration to a reservoir rock, and the trapping have been identifi ed in key areas. Petrobras’

President, Maria das Graças Foster and

Petrobras’ E&P Director, José Formigli

Off shore: Brazil

Brazil’s Northern Frontier

By Claudio Paschoa

Brazil Equatorial Margin and tie-ins-image by Spectrum ASA.

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