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Petrobras could be the last man standing when it comes to crude oil production amid the energy transition, the state-run oil company’s CEO Jean Paul Prates said in an interview in Rio de Janeiro.
“We will get market share,” Prates said, according to Bloomberg, referring to Brazil’s state-run oil company.
The comments come with respect to the energy transition and whether there is cause for concern for an oil company such as Petrobras. But Prates isn’t worried. “We may be the last to produce oil in the world,” he said.
Prates, the recently installed CEO of Petrobras, warned earlier this month that the company must be ready for the “unavoidable” energy transition and made inroads with its expansion of renewable energy assets, including new offshore wind projects.
But Prates insists that crude oil production will remain the number one priority, with renewable investments paling in comparison.
Brazil’s crude oil production is set to reach 3.4 million bpd this year, and is set to grow through 2030, but investments will be needed if the country is to keep growing—or even to just maintain those levels.
For now, Petrobras said it would focus on existing finds in the pre-salt areas, as well as looking for new ones. It will also look at opening up new basins in the controversial equatorial margin in the north, which shares similar geology to oil hotspot Guyana.
To move forward in that area, Petrobras is waiting on regulatory approval, which is anything but certain due to the fact that it is home to rather unique ecosystems that many—including Brazil’s environment minister—wish to protect. If Petrobras does manage to get approval for this area, it would be able to commence drilling in short order—as soon as April, Prates said.
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By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group.
Still Tesla remains the best thing to ever happen to US domestic energy production plus refining plus imports of course with now Texas First in all of that tho Louisiana close behind in its own unique way.
The last three oil barrels produced will come from three regions of the word: the Arab Gulf region, Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt and Russia’s Arctic with the very last barrel produced most probably by Iraq.
Iraq sits on what could be the world’s largest oil reserves estimated to exceed 400 bb of oil between proven and semi-proven reserves according to international experts who assessed Iraq’s oil potential. Moreover, only 70% of Iraq’s territory has been explored for oil.
The second barrel before the last will probably come from Venezuela which currently has the world’s largest proven reserves estimated at 303.8 bb. While both Venezuela’s economy and oil industry are currently in a shambolic state, they will rebound quickly when the world realizes how dependent on Venezuela’s oil it will be in coming years.
The third barrel will come from Russia’s Arctic region estimated to contain 13% of the earth’s oil reserves and a quarter of its untapped gas reserves. Russia’s untapped reserves of oil and gas at the Arctic are estimated at 125 bb of oil and 80-100 trillion cubic metres (tcm) of gas. If these are added to Russia’s current proven reserves of oil and gas, the figures then mushroom to 233 bb of oil and 117-137 tcm lasting from 1-2 centuries.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Expert