Qatar’s state-owned petroleum company, QatarEnergy (previously Qatar Petroleum), in a consortium with TotalEnergies and Petronas, has been awarded the Sépia Surplus Production Sharing Contract (PSC), under the Second Transfer of Rights Surplus Bidding Round, by Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
Under the terms of the PSC and associated agreements, QatarEnergy will hold a 21 percent interest in the PSC, alongside operator Petrobras (30 percent), TotalEnergies (28 percent), and Petronas (21 percent), the company said in a statement.
Sépia is a multi-billion barrel pre-salt oil field located about 2,000 meters off the shore of Rio de Janeiro in the prolific Santos Basin.
The Sépia field began producing oil in August 2021, with a specialized Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading unit (FPSO) capable of producing 180,000 barrels of oil per day.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi Qatar Minister of State for Energy Affairs CEO – QatarEnergy
“We are delighted with this successful joint bid to secure an interest in this world-class asset. This achievement marks a significant expansion of our business in Brazil, a key country for QatarEnergy, as we continue to deliver our growth strategy focused on energy-efficient hydrocarbon development and supply. We are particularly pleased to achieve this landmark deal with our esteemed partners, Petrobras, TotalEnergies, and Petronas, and we look forward to working with them to achieve the full potential of this important asset. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ANP and the Brazilian authorities for this opportunity and their ongoing support and valuable cooperation.”
According to the statement, “A second FPSO is expected to be sanctioned in the near future to increase the overall production capacity of the field to more than 350,000 barrels of oil per day.”
The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2022, cements QatarEnergy’s position as one of the top upstream operators in Brazil, where it already holds working interests in a producing field and a number of exploration blocks.
