Norwegian part-state owned oil giant Statoil and Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras have agreed a deal which will see Statoil acquire Petrobras’ 66% operated interest of the BM-S-8 offshore license in Brazil’s prolific Santos basin.
The US$2.5 billion acquisition includes a substantial part of the Carcará oil discovery, one of the largest discoveries in the world in recent years.
Carcará was discovered in 2012, on the geological trend of the nearby Lula field and Libra area. It is a "world-class" discovery of high-quality oil of around 30° API and with associated gas in a thick reservoir with excellent properties, says Statoil. The firm expects to achieve a declaration of commerciality in 2018 and a final investment decision in 2020+.
Carcará straddles both BM-S-8 and open acreage to the north, which is expected to be part of a license round in 2017.
"Statoil is well positioned for operatorship of a unitized Carcará field following this transaction and the license round will provide an opportunity to scale up the position in the field," says Statoil. Statoil estimates the recoverable volumes within the BM-S-8 license to be around 700 MMboe to 1.3 billion boe.
Statoil says BM-S-8 also holds significant exploration upside. The licence is in its final exploration phase with one remaining exploration commitment well to be drilled by 2018.
CEO Eldar Sætre says: “Through this acquisition we are accessing a world class asset, and we strengthen our position in Brazil, one of Statoil’s core areas due to its large resource base and excellent fit with our technology and capabilities. The Carcará field will significantly enhance our international production volumes in the 2020s and beyond. We are developing a strong Brazilian business with a broad portfolio, material production, high impact exploration opportunities and excellent potential for long term value creation and cash flow.”
Half of the $2.5 billion will be paid upon closing of the transaction, with the remainder to be paid when certain milestones have been met. These are partly related to the license award, but mainly to the future unitization of Carcará.
Statoil and Petrobras are also in discussions regarding a long-term strategic cooperation. The focus will be in the Campos and Espírito Santo basins, as well as new cooperation within gas and technology projects in the Santos basin.
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