Finding oil in Brazil
- Board of Stena Maritima, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Although oil in fractures of bituminous shales of Early Cretaceous age had been known since 1858 in Bahia, oil production in Brazil was delayed for eight decades. There were two fundamental reasons for this belated development. First, the paucity of good oil and gas seeps like those found in other countries and second, Brazilian entrepreneurs did not have the financing or the tradition of risk taking and technology to plunge into oil exploration. Thus, the development of the oil industry in Brazil evolved along different lines than in other countries. Petrobras was the beginning of the modern period of oil exploration in Brazil. Utilizing seismic interpretation methods, oil was discovered onshore in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin in 1957, in the Espirito Santo basin in 1969, and in the Potiquar basin in 1979. After many years of frustration looking for commercial oil in the huge Amazon basin, Petrobras discovered gas in the Jurua River Valley in 1978. Although offshore drilling began with discovery of the Guaricema field in 1968, it was not until the advent of modern offshore drilling and seismic technology that the prolific Garoupa field was discovered in 1974 which opened up the Campos basin. Furthermore, identification of huge structures in deep water by 3D seismic mapping methods indicate a bright future for Petrobras in offshore Brazil.
- OSTI ID:
- 5661697
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8909175-; CODEN: AABUD
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA), Vol. 73:9; Conference: History of petroleum industry symposium, Titusville, PA (USA), 17-20 Sep 1989; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BRAZIL
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
EXPLORATION
BLACK SHALES
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
MAPPING
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHATTANOOGA FORMATION
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
LATIN AMERICA
MATERIALS
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
OIL SHALES
RESOURCES
SOUTH AMERICA
SURVEYS
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration