Petrobras identified another oil-bearing interval while drilling deeper exploratory sections of the Morpho well in block FZA-M-59 off Amapá, Brazil, the company said on Friday, October 2.
The well, also designated 1-BRSA-1405-APS, is in 2,886 metres of water in the Foz do Amazonas Sedimentary Basin, part of Brazil’s Equatorial Margin.
Petrobras said electrical logs and indications from rock and fluid samples collected during drilling identified the interval. Laboratory analysis of the latest samples is under way, and the results will be integrated with data acquired during drilling.
The company plans to complete the well before continuing its evaluation of the formations encountered. It has not disclosed a resource estimate for the new interval.
Petrobras reported an earlier hydrocarbon finding at Morpho in August.
Petrobras said subsequent analysis confirmed the good quality of the oil from the August finding. Analysis of samples from the latest interval remains in progress.
The company said the additional interval would provide information for assessing the petroleum systems and resource potential of the Foz do Amazonas Basin. It has linked exploration in the block to its strategy of replenishing oil and gas reserves through work in new frontier areas.
Morpho is about 175 kilometres off the coast of Oiapoque in Amapá and nearly 500 kilometres from the mouth of the Amazon River. Petrobras operates FZA-M-59 with a 100 per cent participating interest.