Chevron Predicts Drop in Brazil Oil Production

Chevron stated on October 25th that, by 2027, the  oil output is expected to drop by 1.5 million  barrels per day, which would take the country out of the world’s top 10 oil-producing. nations. This year Russia, with 10.5 million barrels per day, overtook Saudi Arabia to become the world’s biggest producer of oil.

“We have to find a way to invest in the mature oil fields of Brazil,” said the President of Chevron in Brazil, Javier La Rosa, during a presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference event held in Rio de Janeiro on October 25th. Chevron operates the Frade field, located in the Campos Basin, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which has a daily production of 12 thousand oil barrels.

Chevron claims to be taking measures to adapt to a future of decreased production in Brazil. “One of the objectives was to reduce costs of operations and we had a reduction of 45% in the last two years, working with partners, adjusting contracts, logistics, technology and innovation,” Mr. La Rosa claimed during his presentation. According to the executive, the efficiency of the company grew by 2.2%, from 2015 to 2017, reaching 97.8%. Mr. La Rosa, however, did not specify how these numbers were calculated.

Other players in the market:

The general manager of the French company Total, Maxime Rabilloud, also attended the event and discussed his strategy. He claimed that his company will maintain its focus on deep-sea oil and gas exploration. This approach is in line with the previous moves made by Total in the country. In March 2017, the company announced the purchase of assets from the state-controlled oil company Petrobras, for  $2.2 billion. The purchaseconsisted of stakes in  deep sea oil and gas exploration and extraction operations.

Mr. Rabiloud also took the opportunity to state that Total aims to invest approximately $7.4 billion dollars in Brazil by the end of 2018. The executive, however, did not inform how much of this money has already been spent in the country. The company currently holds 15 assets in Brazil, with its largest investment being a 20% participation in the Libra field, located in the pre-salt of the Campos Basin, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, wherein Petrobras operates with a 40% stake. The other partners are Shell (20%) and the Chinese companies CNPC and CNOOC, both with 10%.

C.S.