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20031-912 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ
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Starting production at the Uruguá Field, Santos Basin
Rio de Janeiro, July 14, 2010, Petróleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras announces the entry into operation of FPSO Cidade de Santos in the Uruguá field, by means of the interconnection of the Uruguá-6 well. The Uruguá-8 and Uruguá-10 wells have also been linked to the FPSO. They are expected to start producing later this week and to reach a production of 25,000 bpd in the field. The Uruguá field's full oil production capacity (35 bpd) is hoped to be reached late this year, with the interconnection of the fourth well in December.
The FPSO will be used to develop the Uruguá and Tambaú fields, located in the Uruguá Pole. This is the first FPSO installed for the development of two oil and gas fields in the Santos Basin. The vessel is moored 160 km offshore, in water depths of 1300 meters, and is capable of producing 10 million cubic meters of natural gas per day and 35,000 bpd of oil and condensate, and capacity to store up to 740,000 barrels of oil.
The reservoir of the Uruguá field holds 33º API light oil and non-associated gas. The development plan for the field foresees four horizontal oil wells and five gas producer wells, which will be connected directly to the FPSO; The Tambaú field will have three horizontal wells of non-associated gas, which will be interconnected to a submarine production manifold to be connected to FPSO Cidade de Santos.
The oil produced at the fields will be offloaded via shuttle tankers, while the gas will flow over an 18-inch, 174-km long pipeline, which has already been launched and will connect the FPSO to the PMXL-1 platform, in the Mexilhão field. The gas will later flow to the Monteiro Lobato Gas Treatment Unit, located in Caraguatatuba, São Paulo, where the natural gas will be specified in order to be inserted into the transportation network. The works at PMXL-1 and at UTGCA are in their final phase and are expected to be completed in the second half of 2010.
The Company's expectation is that by late 2012, all Uruguá and Tambaú gas wells will have been interconnected, allowing FPSO Cidade de Santos to reach its full gas production capacity, depending on the market demand.
The Uruguá-Tambaú project received yesterday the Operational License granted by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewed Natural Resources (ibama) and the Infrastructure built for the project is also expected to be used to facilitate other projects in adjacent fields, such as the Pirapitanga and Tambuatá ones, which are located in the Uruguá Pole as well.
www.petrobras.com.br/ri/english
Contacts: PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S. A. – PETROBRAS
Investor Relations Department I E-mail: petroinvest@petrobras.com.br / acionistas@petrobras.com.br
Av. República do Chile, 65 – 22nd floor - 20031-912 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ I Tel.: 55 (21) 3224-1510 / 9947
This document may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) that merely reflect the expectations of the Company’s management. Such terms as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “forecast”, “intend”, “plan”, “project”, “seek”, “should”, along with similar or analogous expressions, are used to identify such forward-looking statements. These predictions evidently involve risks and uncertainties, whether foreseen or not by the Company. Therefore, the future results of operations may differ from current expectations, and readers must not base their expectations exclusively on the information presented herein.
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PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S.A--PETROBRAS | ||
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By: |
/S/ Almir Guilherme Barbassa
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Almir Guilherme Barbassa
Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer |
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) that are not based on historical facts and are not assurances of future results. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results o f operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
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