The study by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels details that the amounts will be invested in the exploration phase, which begins with the signing of contracts for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, and were calculated based on plans presented by the companies themselves.
Oil companies are expected to invest 18.31 billion reais in Brazil in activities aimed at finding oil and gas through 2027, with more than 17 billion reais between this year and next, according to estimates by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), published on Monday.
The amounts will be invested in the exploration phase, which begins with the signing of contracts for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, and were calculated based on the Exploratory Work Plans (PTE) for 2024 submitted to the ANP by the companies.
For 2024, R$9.97 billion is expected, while R$7.64 billion should be committed in 2025. The remaining R$701 million should be contributed between 2026 and 2027, the ANP predicted.
During the exploration phase, studies are carried out to detect the presence of oil and natural gas in the areas under contract, in sufficient quantities to make their extraction economically viable. If this stage is successful, companies can move on to the next production phase, when they will begin production and the contracted area will be called a field.
Of the total amount planned for the period, 88% will be concentrated in well drilling, while the remaining 12% will be distributed between well testing (8%), exclusive geophysical prospecting (3%) and non-exclusive geophysical prospecting (1%).
Of the volumes forecast for this year, R$9.5 billion will be allocated to the maritime sector, of which R$8.5 billion will be allocated to well drilling. For the land sector, the forecast is R$470 million by December.
The year 2023 ended with 251 blocks under contract, 13 under a production-sharing regime and 238 under a concession regime.
"As the main parameter for evaluating the performance of the oil and natural gas exploration segment, the drilling of exploratory wells has had a lower than desired performance in recent years," the ANP said in a statement.
“The year 2023 confirmed the trend of drilling a maximum of one exploratory well for every ten blocks under contract, a result observed since 2016.”
In 2023, 22 wells were drilled in the exploration phase, one less than in 2022.
