The investments foreseen by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) in the oil and gas exploration phase, involving activities of blocks under contract, this year, total R$ 3.366 billion, of which R$ 2.625 billion will be invested in 30 exploratory wells, R$ 184 million in geophysical surveys and R$ 557 million in ancillary activities.
The data are included in the second edition of the 2021 Annual Exploration Report, released today (22) by ANP director Fernando Moura, during the 2nd Seminar on Instruments for Disclosure of Information on Oil and Natural Gas Exploration.
The Regulation coordinator of the Exploration Superintendence (SEP) of the ANP, Edson Montez, evaluated that the forecast of reaching 30 exploratory wells this year is feasible. From January to June, there are already 15 wells drilled in the country, informed Montez. “We are ready to surpass the performance we had in 2020, when 16 wells were drilled,” he said.
The 22 exploratory wells drilled in 2021 represent an increase of 38% compared to 2020.
Fernando Moura pointed out that the disclosure of the second Annual Exploration Report is an important source of information and analysis on the country’s exploration performance, and may contribute to deepening the evaluation and understanding of the segment’s direction, also assisting in planning and decisions. futures on the investments to be made.
According to the director, the report, as well as the Dynamic Panel of the Exploration Phase, updated in April, constitute tools that add value to the information provided to society, as well as knowledge.
commerciality
The 2021 Annual Exploration Report incorporates the historical series started in 2016. During this period, 27 declarations of commerciality were made, a stage that constitutes the apex of the exploration phase, of which 19 in onshore basins and eight in maritime basins.
SEP Infrastructure analyst Lydia Hughenin Queiroz said that, in 2021, three declarations of commerciality were made, two in the Recôncavo Basin and one in the Parnaíba Basin, with another nine declarations not made, under analysis by the ANP, the which adds up to 36 declarations of commerciality, of which 20 in terrestrial basins and 16 in maritime basins.
At the end of 2021, there were 39 operating companies in Brazil, with Petrobras being the company with the largest number of blocks under contract (68) and the only one operating in maritime and terrestrial environments. Of the total of 246 blocks under contract in the exploration phase in sedimentary basins, 57 were in suspension at the end of 2021.
The SEP Regulation specialist, Rosana de Rezende Andrade, noted that from 2018, when 334 blocks were signed under contract, there was a declining trend in contracts, influenced in 2020 by the new coronavirus pandemic. Of the 246 blocks under contract at the end of 2021, 138 were offshore and 108 onshore.
At the end of last year, the exploratory area under contract reached 188 thousand square kilometers (km²), corresponding to 2.6% of Brazilian sedimentary basins, according to the report. The Exploration Phase Dynamic Panel, updated by the ANP in April, including historical data from 1998, informs that there are currently 240 blocks under contract, in an area of 192.6 thousand km².
The Annual Exploration Report and the Dynamic Panel of the Exploration Phase can be accessed on the ANP website.
