PTTEP expands its presence in Brazil

 

In a statement, CEO and President Tevin Vongvanich said that PTTEP Brazil Investments in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Limitada (PTTEP BL), a subsidiary, has entered into an agreement to acquire a total 20 per cent participating interest from Shell Brasil Petroleo Ltda in Concession  BM-ES-23.  This agreement is subject to the approval of Brazil's National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (the ANP).

The concession is located in the Espirito Santo Basin, in deep water of offshore Brazil, covering an area of approximately 550 square kilometres. 

Upon approval from the ANP, PTTEP BL will hold 20 per cent participating  interest in the concession, with Petrobras (the operator) holding  65 per cent and INPEX  15 per cent.  The joint venture partners plan to conduct exploration and appraisal drilling during  2014-2015.

Currently, PTTEP holds 25 per cent participating interest in 4 exploration blocks under Barreirinhas AP1 project which is located in Barreirinhas basin in Brazil. In August, PTTEP BL signed the contract for the 4 petroleum exploration blocks; namely BAR-M-215, BAR-M-217, BAR-M-252 and BAR-M-254. They cover an area of approximately 3,077 square kilometres in the Northeastern deep water of Barreirinhas basin, Atlantic Ocean, Brazil. 

"The participation in Concession BM-ES-23 is another important milestone in our expansion into South America, a region with high petroleum potential," Tevin said.

Transactions in Brazil extend PTTEP's investment to cover South America for the first time. In the past years, the activities have covered mainly Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia and North America.