Brazil Oil and Gas Sector Piece De Resistance: The Pre-Salt Play Developments

Abstract

The magnitude of the pre-salt projects, most located in Brazil ultra-deep waters, coupled with the enormous potential already auctioned, leads to the following questions: what will be Brazil's share in the world's deep-water development? How should suppliers prepare themselves to assist Brazil in the task of making these opportunities viable? Since 2013, the country awarded over R$ 43 billion in signing bonuses. Despite the pessimism associated to the oil price drop in 2014, Brazil has gone forward with the development of pre-salt areas and the resume of the bidding rounds, reaching the top 10th position in world's biggest oil producers (BP 2019). This paper forecasts the oil potential for these areas, as well as the Brazilian oil production for the next 15 years and the demand for facilities to reach that potential. Those forecasts clarify the increasing importance of Brazilian deep-water oil in the global scenario.