Pierre Perrin-Monlouis Dernière mise à jour: 20 octobre 2021
Petrobras will present 21 technical papers in the main panels of the 19th World Petroleum Congress (WPC), the largest international event of the oil industry, scheduled for June 29 to July 3, in Madrid, Spain. Among others, the Company will showcase projects and studies on deepwater production technology, gas, energy, and business management. In addition to the technical presentations, Company executives and technicians will help coordinate several fora.
The oil and natural gas discoveries Petrobras has made in Santos Basin’s pre-salt layer, particularly Tupi, have attracted a lot of attention from the oil industry the world over. Located at a depth of 6,000 meters (from the water line to seabed subsoil), nestled under a thick layer of salt, this new exploratory frontier will change Brazil’s relative position in the oil industry, perhaps catapulting it to the restricted list of countries that hold the largest oil reserves.
The new exploratory frontiers in Brazil are the theme of one of the papers that will be presented during the WPC. The study profiles Petrobras’ exploratory achievements, addressing everything from the first activities carried out in the Campos Basin to the latest discoveries in the pre-salt area. In the 1980’s, the Company pioneered deepwater exploration in the Campos Basin, setting successive exploration and production records. Petrobras currently produces oil and gas at a depth of 1,886 meters from the water line and is already developing technology to operate at 3,000 meters.
New frontiers
After the exploratory success attained in the Campos Basin, efforts are now centered on the potential of the Santos and Espírito Santo Basins, where the Company discovered the pre-salt province. The papers that will be presented and discussed during the congress will highlight these reservoirs’ characteristics, their potential, and how they differ from the reservoirs found in the Campos Basin.
Studying these significant discoveries is considered greatly important for Brazil and is now a priority for Petrobras. In 2007 and in the first half of 2008 alone, oil accumulations were found in five exploratory blocks in the Santos Basin. These accumulations were baptized as Tupi, Bem-te-vi, Carioca, Parati, Caramba, and Jupiter. In Tupi, the only accumulation that has been announced, the volume is estimated at 5 to 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The Company is strategically positioned as the main operator in the pre-salt area. In the Tupi region, it operates in partnership with two other companies – BG (25%) and Galp Energia (10%). Although the technological challenges are directly proportional to the grandiosity of the discoveries, by late 2010, Petrobras will put the Tupi pilot project online, with an initial production of 100,000 barrels per day and of some 3.5 million m3/day of natural gas.
At the present time, the Company is developing the assessment plan to determine the potential of this new province and it is getting ready to kick-off the long duration tests for the reservoir next year. Petrobras’ current reserves are 15 billion barrels of oil equivalent, the world’s second biggest in useful life, calculated at 13.9 years of longevity.
Petrobras Business – Agenda at the WPC
On July 2, Wednesday, at 2:30 PM (10 AM Brasília standard time), Petrobras’ president and CEO, José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, and Company directors will give a press conference to discuss Petrobras’ participation in the WPC and its business in Brazil and in the world.
On Thursday, July 3, at 8:30 AM (3:30 AM Brasília standard time), president Gabrielli will make a presentation during the plenary that will debate reserve incorporation and investments in infrastructure. On that same day, at 2:30 PM (9:30 AM Brasília standard time), the Company’s CEO will participate in the Special Youth Session, aimed at students and young professionals and designed to contemplate issues such as new technologies, the environment, and professional development.
Award
In the natural gas area, the paper that analyzes the sector’s perspectives in the Southern Cone will be under the spotlight. Presented by young Petrobras technicians, the paper is competing for the The Young Author award, which acknowledges the best study carried out by young authors (aged up to 35 years).
The most sustainable in the sector
Concern with sustainability will also be featured in the papers Petrobras will take to the WPC. The Company will take part in the panel that will discuss the best practices for renewable energies in the energy matrix, in addition to presenting studies on biodiesel production, renewable raw materials, and ethanol logistics.
The “Live Carnauba” Project, sponsored by Petrobras, is among the three Social Responsibility (Large Companies) category finalists, in the WPC Excellence Awards 2008, scheduled to be delivered Monday, June 30, at 12 PM (7 AM Brasília standard time). The project produces waterproofed carnauba products that are used as lining and thermo insulators in Petrobras pipelines in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará, Northeastern Brazil. The materials are made by rural community artisans from both states.
Considered the world’s most sustainable oil sector company, according to Management & Excellence, Petrobras is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and on the São Paulo Stock Exchange’s Corporate Sustainability Index (Brazil), in addition to being a signatory of the United Nation’s Global Compact.
Since January 2007, the Company has been participating in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a coalition of 180 international companies that are committed to sustainable development. Petrobras was the grand winner of the GRI Reader’s Choice Awards, an accolade that acknowledges the most transparent and complete sustainability reports in the world. The distinction was bestowed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the world’s main reference in guidelines for sustainability report preparation.
