Norway's Statoil is set to triple its production in Brazil after agreeing to acquire a 25% stake in the Roncador oil field in Brazil's Campos Basin from Petrobras.
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| Statoil CEO Eldar Sætre (left) and Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente at the Roncador contract signing. Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland. |
Statoil says the field offers potential for additional value creation through use of Statoil's expertise in improved oil recovery (IOR).
Statoil will pay US$2.35 billion, plus additional contingent payments of up to US$550 million.
Roncador was the largest discovery offshore Brazil in the 1990s and is currently the third largest producing field in Petrobras' portfolio with around 10 billion boe in place and an expected remaining recoverable volume of more than 1 billion boe. The ambition is to increase the recovery factor by at least 5%, bringing the total remaining recoverable volumes to more than 1.5 billion boe.
The field has been in production since 1999, with output, during November 2017, at about 240,000 bo/d, plus about 40,000 boe/dof associated gas.
"This transaction adds material and attractive long-term production to our international portfolio, further strengthening the position of Brazil as a core area for Statoil. We are also pleased to advance our strategic partnership with Petrobras by expanding our technical collaboration, sharing technology, competence and experience to increase oil and gas recovery," says Eldar Sætre, president and chief executive officer of Statoil.
The transaction increases Statoil's equity production in Brazil by around 175% to about 110,000 boe/d from around 40,000 boe/d. Petrobras retains operatorship and a 75% interest.
In conjunction with the transaction, the two companies are entering into an agreement with the aim of maximizing value creation and the longevity of the Roncador field. Statoil will leverage its IOR technology, competence and experience from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and elsewhere, and Petrobras its experience as the largest deep-water operator and pre-salt developer in the world. Several opportunities for increased recovery and value creation have already been identified, says Statoil.
"Strategic partnerships are an important part of our business plan and Statoil's knowledge and experience in increasing the level of oil recovery in mature fields will add value not only to our joint operations in Roncador, but to other mature fields in the Campos Basin, with huge potential to positively impact future production in the area," says Pedro Parente, chief executive officer of Petrobras.
Petrobras and Statoil are partners in 13 areas in either the exploration or production phase, 10 of which are in Brazil and three abroad.
The acquisition will strengthen Statoil as one of the biggest oil producers in Brazil, operating the Peregrino field and block BM-C-33, both in the Campos Basin, and the BM-S-8 block in the Santos Basin.
Statoil and Petrobras have also agreed that Statoil will have the option to utilize part of the capacity at Petrobras' Cabiúnas natural gas terminal to allow for the future development of BM-C-33, where both companies are partners and which contains the world class Pão de Açúcar discovery.
This marks an important next step in developing Statoil's position in the Brazilian natural gas market which is on the verge of major transformation, says Statoil.
The effective date for the Roncador transaction is 1 January 2018. Closing is subject to certain conditions, including government approval.
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