Videocon announces high-grade oil find in field off Brazil
03 Feb 2015
Videocon Industries Ltd informed the stock exchanges on Tuesday that PetrĂ³leo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), its partner in the deep water Farfan oilfield off the coast of Brazil, has confirmed the presence of high-quality crude oil in the field.
The confirmation came from Petrobras on Monday when it announced the results of the third appraisal well as part of the drilling programme of the Farfan discovery, a hydrocarbon reservoir in the Sergipe Alagoas basin.
The appraisal well drilled in the concession area BM-SEAL-11is the third in a row to have established the presence of high-quality crude oil, known as light sweet oil.
The first and second appraisal wells were drilled in October 2013 and January 2015, according to the earlier announcements by Petrobras.
The Farfan discovery was made by Perobras in August 2013.
While Petrobras holds 60 per cent participating interest in the block and is also the operator, Videocon, along with its joint venture partner, the overseas subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd, holds the remaining 40 per cent stake.
The note issued by Videocon to the exchanges said the appraisal well also discovered additional reserves of light crude oil. This is the second such additional discovery after 9 January when the company announced a similar discovery in its second appraisal well.
D Rajkumar, who is the managing director of Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, BPCL's foreign subsidiary, had said in an interview in September that while crude prices are falling, investments in the Brazilian asset will not be curtailed as they hold light oil, which is currently imported into Brazil.
''Therefore, the government in Brazil is interested to develop the Brazilian light oil resources so that it can cut its import bill,'' he had said.