Date to start Petrobras' equatorial margin drilling still to be set

The date for the beginning of Petrobras' drilling campaign in the equatorial margin has not yet been fixed, a spokesperson for the Brazilian oil company told BNamericas. 

Petrobras originally planned to begin exploration in the offshore Foz do Amazonas basin at the end of 2022, but the campaign is still subject to authorization from environmental regulator Ibama. 

At the moment, the state-run firm is mobilizing resources for the pre-operational evaluation (APO). 

"The resources are in the process of inspection and operational tests, both by Petrobras and Ibama, in order to be able to carry out the operations. The date for the APO will be defined soon, together with Ibama," the spokesperson said.

Dubbed Morpho, the well will be sunk in block FZA-M-59 by Ocyan's ODN II rig (pictured) in deep waters off Amapá state's coast. 

ODN II is a 6th generation drill ship with dynamic positioning and the capacity to drill in water depths of 3,048m.