Petro Rio reports an agreement with BP Energy do Brasil Ltda. for the acquisition of interests of 35.7% in the BM-C-30 Block ("Wahoo Field") and 60% in the BM-C-32 Block ("Itaipu Field"), subject to the necessary approvals, becoming the operator of both pre-salt fields.

Wahoo, with production potential of over 140 million barrels (100% of Wahoo), had oil discoveries in 2008 and carried out formation tests in 2010, and fits precisely in the Company's value generation strategy. The Wahoo development will allow the Company to create another production cluster, which will share all infrastructure with Frade Field (including the FPSO), enabling the capture of synergies, resulting in significant and sustainable lifting cost reduction, while maintaining high levels of safety and efficiency.

The acquisition, subject to regulatory approvals and other usual conditions precedent, will have a fixed portion of US$ 100 million, which will be divided into 5 payments (US$ 17.5 million split between the signing and the completion of the transaction - closing - once all conditions are met; US$ 15 million in December 2021; with the balance due in 2022), plus a US$ 40 million earn-out contingent on Itaipu's unitization (or first oil).

Wahoo is located 30-35 km north of Frade, with a water depth of 1,400 m, and has a carbonate reservoir at the pre-salt layer at a depth of 5,000 to 7,000 meters. Wahoo oil is of excellent quality, with 30º API, low viscosity, and associated gas that will be used to generate energy for the Frade FPSO.

Itaipu, which was discovered in 2009 and has 3 pilot wells drilled, is located close to the Whales Park cluster. Preliminary studies indicate that the accretion is potentially shared with the southeast portion of the cluster. Thus, the development of this area may go through a unitization process, before any development definition.

Wahoo History and Tieback Project

In 2008, Anadarko (the operator at the time) concluded the exploration, discovery, mapping and evaluation of Wahoo. Four wells have been drilled in the Wahoo reservoir, outlining it, of which three had oil discovery, with a subsequent formation test. At the time, an independent production system was conceived, with an owned FPSO.

During the evaluation process of the investment opportunity, PetroRio confirmed the possibility of a tieback between Wahoo and Frade and devised a new development project using existing infrastructure, fully aligned with its value generation strategy.

The Wahoo base project covers the drilling of four producer wells, two injector wells, the deployment of a subsea manifold with multiphase pumps for the flow of oil and injected water, and the tieback between the manifold and the Frade FPSO. The project may be adjusted, depending on new technologies and conditions found after the beginning of production. For example, if there is aquifer pressure in the Wahoo reservoir, the injector wells may become unnecessary, reducing the total planned investment.

The Company has estimated average initial productivity of more than 10,000 barrels per day per well and a production that might exceed 40,000 barrels per day in Wahoo, based on the formation test made in the pilot well. Such estimates may be changed based on the collection of more information, such as seismic data and more detailed mapping of the reservoir, allowing for the optimization of the location of the planned wells and equipment installation.

In the base project, the CAPEX is composed of US$ 300 million for the tieback, US$ 360 million for well drilling, US$ 100 million for subsea equipment, and US$ 40 million for adjustments to the Frade FPSO and other items.

KeyFacts Energy: PetroRio Brazil country profile