(Image: Disclosure/PRIO)
The Brazilian oil company Prio (PRIO3) is alert to opportunities to purchase assets in the American part of the Gulf of Mexico and predicts that an eventual movement in this direction could occur within 18 months, said president Roberto Monteiro, this Wednesday (25).
“A place we have always been very curious about is the Gulf of Mexico, the American part… We have been looking at some interesting things, some opportunities,” Monteiro told journalists, on the sidelines of the ROG.e oil and gas congress.
When participating in a panel at the event, Monteiro said on stage that the purchase of assets within Brazil “may have a certain limit”, pointing out that Prio has acquired assets in the country in recent years not only from Petrobras, but also from oil companies Chevron and BP.
For now, the executive stated that the focus is on negotiations with the Chinese company Sinochem for the acquisition of a stake in the Peregrino field, which last year reached a production of 110,000 barrels of oil per day.
“We have always liked this Peregrino field, a field close to ours… it would be within our growth strategy, and that has always caught our attention. This process has been going on for some time now, the sale process on Sinochem’s side, and we are interested in participating, and we are participating.”
Prio announced on Wednesday that it is negotiating with China's Sinochem to acquire a stake in the Peregrino field.
On the production side, the company is awaiting a license from the regulatory agency ANP to begin drilling in the Wahoo field, where it expects to produce its first oil in the first half of next year.
The field, which should have four producing wells and two injectors, is expected to require investments of 800 million dollars, he highlighted.
“(Wahoo) is a field that connects with the Frade field, which will bring 40 thousand barrels of oil (per day) to the company, on top of the same existing structure, so it is great from the point of view of carbon footprint, cost, efficiency, everything”, he highlighted.
Monteiro also highlighted that Prio is a “pure-blood” company, which does not plan to invest in wind or solar energy.