Tupi oil field
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tupi oil field is a large oil field off the coast of Brazil located in the Santos Basin. The field was discovered in a geological formation known as the Pre-salt layer and is a new petroleum play which is thought to contain significant volumes of oil and natural gas.
| Tupi | |
| Region: | Latin America |
|---|---|
| Country: | Brazil |
| Coordinates: | [1] |
| Location/Block(s): | BM S 11 |
| Offshore/Onshore: | Offshore |
| Operators: | Petrobras |
| Partners: | BG Group, Galp Energia |
 |
|
| caption to image | |
| Field History | |
| Discovery: | 2006 |
| Start of production: | Expected 2010/11 |
| Production | |
| Current Production Oil (Bod): | Expected 100,000 b/d |
| Producing Formations: | Barremian, Lower Aptian Guaratiba Formation |
Petrobras says this field is "comparable to the most important" in the world. The Tupi accumulation, in block BM-S-11 of the Santos basin, contains at least 5-8 billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to the state-controlled oil company. This would make it twice the size of Roncador, previously Brazil's largest field. Not only does Tupi have the potential of a 50% increase of the country's oil and gas reserves of 14 billion BOE, but it has also opened up a new horizon for exploration in Brazil: it is a pre-salt discovery – held in rocks beneath a salt layer that, in places, reaches thicknesses of over 2,000 metres. Until now, Brazil's reserves have been found in post-salt formations – above the salt layer.
The crude oil is an intermediate or medium gravity oil of 28-30 °API, which corresponds to a specific gravity around 0.88. The Tupi crude oil is considered sweet, which means that the sulfur content is less than 0.5 percent sulfur by weight.
The BG Group announced the discovery October 4, 2006 of the oil field now known as Tupi located in Block BM-S-11. They also announced that the Tupi well flowed 4900 barrels per day of sweet 30 °API crude oil and 4.3 MMscf per day of gas from a deep pre-salt reservoir on a 5/8th inch choke.
In January 2008 Petrobras announced the discovery of the Jupiter field, a huge natural gas and condensate (very light oil) field which could equal the Tupi oil field in size. It lies 37 km (23 mi) east of Tupi.[2]
Recent estimates have pushed the total estimated barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) to greater than 30 billion, though Petrobras has not confirmed the highest estimate[3], but these estimates are being put into severe doubt by impartial analysts [4].
[edit] References
- ^ Pre-Salt Reservoirs Offshore Brazil: Perspectives and Challenges (November 2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
- ^ Duffy, Gary. 'Huge' gas field found off Brazil. BBC News Online. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ BG Group: Tupi could hold more than 30 billion BOE. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
- ^ The Economist: Oil and Brazil, What Lies Beneath. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
