Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras said on Thursday it has identified another oil-bearing interval in the Morpho well, marking the third discovery in a block located in ultra-deep waters offshore the country's northern Amapa state.
The Morpho well is at the block FZA-M-59, part of a region known as Equatorial Margin that Petrobras considers its most promising new oil frontier. The company had already announced discoveries there in August and earlier this month.
Drilling and geological data acquisition have been completed in the well, Petrobras said in a securities filing.
The firm added it will abandon the Morpho well, noting the rig will move to the Potiguar Basin to begin drilling the Mae de Ouro prospect.
Foz do Amazonas shares geological similarities with offshore Guyana, where ExxonMobil is developing huge fields.
Petrobras will drill three new wells in the area to determine whether commercial production in the environmentally-sensitive Foz do Amazonas basin is viable.
The company has seven wells still to be licensed for drilling in the region, its Chief Executive Officer Magda Chambriard has said.
(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Fernando Cardoso)