Magda Chambriard, the head of the National Petroleum Agency, has said that Brazil's giant oil prospect, the Libra field, which holds an estimated 15 billion barrels of oil, could easily produce a million barrels of oil a day when it is fully developed; twice the output of OPEC member Ecuador, according to Bloomberg.
Plans exist to have 12 to 18 production vessels permanently anchored on the deepwater field off the coast of Brazil, with each well pumping as much as 30,000 barrels a day.
Chambriard commented that is not unreasonable to expect production at the Libra field to begin within five years
The largest oil discoveries of the century have been discovered off the coast of Brazil, and it is relying on the development of these pre-salt regions to double production output by 2020, as it strives to make up for a decline in production from the old, shallower fields.
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Chambriard explained to Bloomberg that the Brazilian government would take at least 70% from the Libra field, including taxes, a signing bonus, and so-called profit oil that companies must pledge when trying to win a stake in the field.
"All big companies expressed interest in this type of bidding. It is possible to consider one million barrels a day for Libra, easily," she said.
70% may seem like a lot, but countries such as Libya and Venezuela take an even larger chunk of oil projects.
By. Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More