Brazil's Superduper Gigantic Tupi Field Might Produce 500K B/D By 2020 - Reuters

[hatrack]

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans to have its giant Tupi oil field fully operational by 2015, with output of at least 500,000 barrels per day by 2020, a top company official said.

Long-term production tests have begun at two Tupi wells and a third one will start in the coming months, Petrobras' exploration and production director, Guilherme Estrella, said late on Wednesday.

Petrobras intends to drill eight more wells from 2010 on. Five of them will be producing wells. "Our estimate is that these 11 wells will cost around $1 billion ... The third well has an estimated cost of $100 million and the other ones of $60-$80 million," Estrella said on the sidelines of a seminar.

The investment would be funded by Petrobras and its partners British BG Group (BG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Petrogal, controlled by Portuguese oil company Galp Energia (GALP.LS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

EDIT

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUSN1231462720080612

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. how long before Bush/Cheney declare war

on the socialist/communist govt. of Brazil because of their undermining peace and prosperity in South America?

[phantom power]

2. errr... we're saved?

[GliderGuider]

3. Woo hoo!!!! We're saved!

Gonna go buy me a (used) Hummer!
:party: :toast: :beer:

Oh, wait...

[papau]

4. There is currently no known technology to handle the oil/gas at the Temp they would be raised

[hatrack]

5. It's just 500F and 18,000 PSI, with a whiff of salt!!!

Nothing that off-the-shelf technology can't handle, I'm sure!!

:silly:

[bhikkhu]

11. I read that Chevron abandoned a similar attempt

after destroying twelve $50,000 drill heads in the salt layer. (sorry I couldn't find the link). For the volume of oil involved here I imagine they will push the technology farther, but no illusions about it being cheap or easy.

[TheWraith]

6. What's the temperature to to do with it? nt

[hatrack]

7. The higher the temperature, the more damaging to casings, bits, hardware and so forth . . .

There's a lot of metallurgical research going on as we speak with the oil majors.

Given the depths and temperatures at which ultra-deep offshore oil is found, there's no other option except lots and lots of expensive research and modification - yet another reason that this oil will not be cheap when it finally arrives.

[TheWraith]

8. Oh, offshore. That explains it.

I didn't realize they were talking offshore oil, and assumed it was subsalt surface production, which doesn't have a temperature boost.

[Schema Thing]

9. That's what the FEMA ice is being saved for.

[bhikkhu]

10. 500k a day really sucks.

Its better than nothing, but not by much. 500k a day is about the capacity that Cantarell has lost each year lately, and its only half of the flow expected from ANWAR if that ever goes forward. It would be about .6% of total global production at current rates.

Not to be too negative, as it should be a great local boost for Brazil by then, but its impact on the global scene should be barely noticeable. By 2020 we will have to have moved to alternatives to oil, one way or another.