RIO DE JANEIRO—PetroRio, a Brazilian independent oil company, has been achieving its revitalization goals for the Polvo Field (BM-C-8), a mature Campos Basin asset the company acquired in 2013.

But the company said it could invest more toward the effort if Brazil’s energy ministry lowers royalty rates for the field from 10% to 5%. PetroRio has made the request.

If granted, the move would help make way for another phase of revitalization for the field. PetroRio said it has invested US$20 million for the second phase, but that could reach $50 million. The company is working to extend the life of the field, increase its recovery factor and avoid premature decommissioning. The phase entails conducting interventions in producing wells using techniques such as EOR and other advanced technologies used in areas such as the North Sea.

Subsea technologies will also allow PetroRio to access and test undeveloped reserves and new geological horizons. Currently, the company’s operational efficiency rate averages 98%, much higher than the countrywide average of 85%.

The field is in its second Revitalization Plan and in early April, the operator drilled four wells.

In 2016, two years after Polvo was bought from BP and Maersk, PetroRio began the first phase of the Polvo revitalization plan to extend the useful life of the asset. During this process, PetroRio carried out well interventions and increased production by 20%. At that stage, the company’s goal was to increase production by revitalizing its producing wells through workovers.

After increasing investments to revamp the rig in preparation for drilling activity, PetroRio could enter the second phase of the revitalization plan. “I am very happy after these four years of our operation, focusing on health and environmental preservation as well as operational efficiency. We are a Brazilian company, always working to offer the best, with agility and competence. We are currently drilling four new wells in the Polvo Field, which will extend the field life by 2023 if it is successful and increase production and cash generation,” PetroRio CEO Nelson Queiroz Tanure said.

Located 100 km off the state of Rio de Janeiro’s coast, the Polvo Field is operated with two offshore units: a fixed platform, known as Polvo A, and the FPSO Polvo. Currently, PetroRio is the largest independent oil-producing company in Brazil. The company also owns three onshore fields in Brazil’s northern region.

In April the Polvo Field produced 7,167 barrels of oil per day, up 16.47% compared to the average output of first-quarter 2017. Despite this growth, Polvo’s output has been decreasing over the past few years. Yet, the operator emphasized that without workover operations initiated in 2016, the field’s output would be 18% lower.

The injectors and producing wells are operated from the Polvo A fixed platform. Oil is pumped out through an export line to FPSO Polvo, where it is processed and stored. The vessel, which is operated by BW Offshore, has the capacity to process an average of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and the ability to store up to 1 million barrels of oil.

According to PetroRio, since the company became operator of the Polvo Field, operational efficiency has shown steady improvement. As a result, the company has greater stability and an improved decline rate due to its reservoir management.

The executive revealed that new investments in the field reinforce the company’s position in Brazil as a specialist in the recovery of production from fields, seeking new technologies, increasing the recovery factor and, consequently, extending the economic life of mature fields.

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