Marlim, Albacora and Barracuda - Brazilian Atlantic Type Giants Oil Fields

L. R. Guardado, C. C. Martins, A. Candido, C. A. Martos

The Campos Basin is currently the most oil-prone basin in Brazil. So far, over 50 oil accumulations have been discovered, including six giant oil fields in deep waters. To date, around 600 exploratory wells have been drilled and an excess of 360,000 km of seismic lines were recorded, including 240,000 km of 3-D seismic, most of them in deep waters.

Drilling activities started in 1971 and led to the discovery of the first commercial oil accumulation in 1974, Garoupa Field, in Albian carbonate reservoirs. After a decade of exploratory success in shallow waters, where more than 40 oil fields have been discovered, PETROBRAS decided, in 1984, to drill in deep waters, resulting in the discovery of the Albacora field. Other discoveries have been made, including Marlim (1985) and Barracuda (1990) oil fields.

The good seismic response and the excellent reservoir quality supported an aggressive exploration activity, with intensive use of 3-D amplitude maps. Such effort resulted in the discovery of 12 oil fields, six of which are giants.

Total exploitable reserves (in water depths less than 1,200 m) by the end of 1993 are expected to reach 2.67 billion barrels of oil and 37 billion cubic meters of gas (1.3 TCF). Production Pilot Systems started in 1987 for Albacora, Marlim in 1992, and Barracuda is forecasted for December 1995.

With the next phases now being implemented, peak production is expected in 1997 for Albacora and 1996 for Marlim, increasing to 250,000 bbl/d the domestic production.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91020©1995 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, May 5-8, 1995