News from Rio Oil & Gas 2012: Brazil´s estimated 200 Tcf non-conventional oil and gas awaiting development
BY PRAMOD KULKANI, Editor
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil President Dilma Rouseff´s assertion that "God must be a Brazilian" came closer to being true at a panel discussion here on non-conventional reservoirs. Besides pre-salt riches offshore Brazil, the country has more than 200 Tcf of shale and tight gas resource potential in several onshore basins.
Chaired by Sylvia dos Anjos, General Manager of Exploration Geology for Petrobras, the panel of industry experts included Olavo Colela Jr., board adviser for ANP, Brazil´s regulatory agency; Gerald Schotman, Chief Technology Officer for Shell; Bob Frykland, Vice President for Energy Research for IHS, and Ricardo Torres with Baker Hughes Brazil.
ANP´s Colera revealed that the Sao Francisco basin is an analog of the Barnett shale play with a resource potential of 30 Tcf. Other basins in Brazil with non-conventional resource potential include Paranaiba (64 Tcf), Parecis (124 Tcf) and Reconcavo (20 Tcf). Colera suggested that regulatory and environmental issues are of most concern in the development of these resources.
Bob Frykland attributed the success of the North American shale plays by independent operators to a rate of return between 20% to 40% and payback of as little as six months or less. Freyland said accurate evaluation of mineralogy, fracture patterns, reservoir pressure and shale thickness were keys to shale success. Speaking specifically about Latin America and Brazil, Freyland said there was significant opportunity for midstream infrastructure development as many of these shale plays were in remote regions.
Announcing that Shell was celebrating 100 years in Brazil, Gerald Schotman said the IOC was participating in six offshore blocks and five offshore blocks. Among the advanced technologies Shell is using in Brazil is a million-channel seismic data acquisition system in the Sao Francisco basin. Schotman said the company was investigating the development of shale fracturing without the use of water.
Ricardo Torres described Baker Hughe´s seamless approach to shale development from detailed reservoir characterization to accurate well placement in the sweet spot and maximizing production through fracture analysis.
Sylvia dos Anjos deferred to answer a question from the audience as to whether Petrobras would take the lead in the development of non-conventional resources as it has done in pre-salt production.
09/18/2012