Brazilian oil and gas company Petro Rio (Prio) on Thursday paid $1.635 billion to Petrobras in relation to the acquisition of Petrobras' interest in the Albacora Leste offshore field, located in the Campos Basin, Brazil.
The amount paid Thursday is in addition to the $292.7 million paid to Petrobras when the sale contract was signed on in April 2022.
"The National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (“ANP”) has already been notified of the closing of the deal and formal procedures are expected to be completed today," Petro Rio said Thursday.
Petro Rio will then take over the asset’s operation.
"Since the signing of the transaction, 16 working groups have enabled the handover of information and knowledge. During this period, more than 100 [Petro Rio] employees have embarked on the platform, learning the unit's operational and safety routines," the companysaid .
Albacora Leste sits in a water depth of 1,200 meters and is located in the north of the Campos Basin, 23 km from the Frade Field.
The field was discovered in 1986, and produced its first oil in 1998. Its current production is around 32,000 barrels a days (last 30 days average), of which 27,200 net for Petro Rio, with 19º API oil and low sulfur content, produced through its ten production wells and six injection wells currently operating.
According to the Reserve Certification Report, required by PRIO and developed by DeGolyer & MacNaughton (“D&M”), in October 2022, the field had economically recoverable 1P reserves of approximately 280 million, with reserves of over 240 million barrels net to PRIO, and expects the Field to be abandoned after 2050. These estimates consider a long-term price of US$ 60 per barrel of oil.