The Banking Executive Magazine - August 2021

A Promising Future for Brazil’s Oil Production certain. Many believe that the explo- ration projects currently underway will simply sustain Brazil’s crude pro- duction levels, rather than enhance them. However, several oil majors are taking this bet as Total Energies and Chevron both announce plans to ramp up their operations in the coun- try. TotalEnergies announced that it ex- pects to triple its oil production in Brazil by 2025, investing in its stake in several pre-salt oil developments in the country. Total has a current output of around 50,000 bpd of oil in Brazil, mainly from the Lapa pre- salt field. TotalEnergies Brazil manag- ing director Philippe Blanchard stated to a panel at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston: “We expect to achieve production rates of 150,000 bpd by 2025, with the contribution from fields such as Mero, Iara and Gato do Mato.” Shell-operated Gato do Mato, a pre- salt development is expecting its first oil production in 2024. Petroblas is also hoping for production to com- mence in a similar time frame in its Iara cluster, which consists of the Berbigao, Sururu, and Atapu pre-salt fields. Chevron also voiced its interest in developing its pre-salt oil discoveries in Brazil at the Houston conference. Chevron’s Brazil country manager stated the significance of the com- pany’s “pre-salt chapter”, saying “we want a piece of that” in reference to Brazil’s pre-salt oil finds. Since 2018, Chevron has held interests in 11 deepwater projects in the country’s Campos and Santos basins. The government of Brazil is expected to hold an auction in December for licenses in two blocks of the pre-salt area, showing the potential for fur- ther growth in this sector. However, regulatory uncertainty and high li- cense fees put companies off from bidding on the Sepia and Atapu blocks in 2019, a challenge that the government hope will be resolved by the next auction thanks to greater in- terest in the pre-salt area. As countries across the rest of the world fight for international favor as energy transition leaders, Brazil rec- ognizes the importance and ongoing necessity of its strong oil industry. With so much potential still un- tapped, particularly in its pre-salt area, Big Oil is looking to this Latin giant for the future of oil in a world of uncertainty. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 22 ISSUE 152 AUGUST 2021