Norway's Equinor has begun drilling producer and injector wells for its offshore Raia natural gas project in Brazil, while also planning fresh exploratory activities in the South American nation, its top executive in the country told Reuters.
The project in the Campos basin is on track to start production in 2028 and will eventually supply about 15 per cent of Brazil's domestic gas demand, said Veronica Coelho, Equinor's Brazil country manager.
"Today, Brazil is the country where we invest the most, after Norway," Coelho said.
The $9 billion Raia project is expected to produce 16 million cubic metres of gas and 126,000 barrels of oil and condensate per day.
Raia expands Equinor's footprint in Brazil's prolific pre-salt region. The company already operates the Bacalhau field in the neighboring Santos Basin, which started production last year and is still ramping up.
Looking ahead, Equinor is planning an exploratory well for 2027 in its S-M-1378 block and is evaluating another in the S-M-1617 block, both in the southern area of the Santos basin, Coelho said. She noted that the blocks are near a major discovery announced by BP last year.
Equinor continues to view Brazil as a priority investment destination, Coelho said, while declining to comment on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East or Brazil's recent fuel-market interventions.
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)