The southeastern Brazilian state of EspÀrito Santo is working to become the second greatest oil producer in Brazil. The Brazilian state-owned oil giant Petrobras is making a series of investments in the state to raise the daily production of 40,000 barrels of oil to 380,000 barrels in 2010. This year the investment will be of about US$ 1 billion.
In spite of having the second greatest oil reserves in the country, Espírito Santo is behind the states of Rio de Janeiro, also in the Southeast region of Brazil, Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia, Sergipe (all three in the Northeast) and Amazonas (in the North) in production volume.
During the first three months of the year, the state produced 2.44 million barrels of oil. Rio de Janeiro produced 116.1 million, Rio Grande do Norte, 6.9 million, Bahia, 4 million, Sergipe, 3.6 million and Amazonas, 3.7 million.
Last year, Espírito Santo also occupied the sixth position in oil production in Brazil, producing 12 million barrels in 2004.
Raising the state to the second position in the ranking should take place already in the second half of next year. In 2006 the P-34, platform next to the Jubarte field, will start its operations. It is currently being redone and will produce, at sea, 140,000 barrels daily, apart from 20,000 barrels on land.
In 2010, the P-57 will also be operational, which will produce 180,000 barrels per day, also in the Jubarte field. The project of the platform is in the technical analysis phase, according to the technical support manager at Petrobras, Neiry Rossi.
Investment
Petrobras will invest US$ 1 billion in the state of Espírito Santo this year. Until 2010 a total of US$ 6 billion will be invested. The state will receive, in the period, the second greatest investments volume on behalf of the country’s oil company.
A great part of the increase in production will come from maritime exploration. Between January and March the state already increased their production in 64.3% in relation to the same period last year. The percentage was quite above the increase in national production, which was of 2.1%.
Of the 12 billion barrels produced by Espírito Santo in 2004, 37% came from the sea. However in the first three months this year, maritime exploration received greater importance in production with 47%. “The perspectives of the oil sector in Espírito Santo are at sea,” said Rossi.
Espírito Santo produces both light and heavy oil. There are other states in the country that produce light oil, but the Espírito Santo territory is where you find one of the greatest volumes of the product at sea. The discovery of light oil is recent in the state: July 2003. This oil is used to make oil products of greater added value.
The greatest part of Brazilian oil reserves is of heavy oil, which makes Petrobras import the lighter product to improve the quality in the production of the fuels.
The best oils in the world, the light oils, which are mainly found in the Arab countries, have more than 40 APIs. The measurement, translated to American Petroleum Institute, is used to measure the quality of the oil.
Espírito Santo has reserves of 1.4 billion barrels of oil. Brazil has about 13 billion barrels. In the year of 2004 the production reached 557 million barrels of oil in the country.
ANBA – Brazil-Arab News Agency
www.anba.com.br