Petrobras sets national production record with MLL-54HP well

After setting the world water depth record (1,413 m) for production in fractured carbonates (a type of reservoir rock), Petrobras' well MLL-54HP set the Brazilian daily oil production record by topping out, in May, at the volume of 43,588 barrels of oil.
This figure surpasses the 43,299 barrel mark set by well MLS-42, interconnected to platform P-40, in December 2002.

Located 120 km off the coast, in the reservoir known as Jabuti, in the Marlim Leste field, in the Campos Basin, and interconnected to the FPSO Cidade de Niteroi vessel three months ago, MLL-54 already accumulates a production, since it went on stream, of nearly 3 mm barrels of oil.
This record is a new milestone for the company, since it shows the high potential of fractured carbonates and drives the exploration and development of several similar newly-discovered fields and other fields that have already been mapped in the Campos Basin.

The field's draining plan was the outcome of detailed studies. Because it is a fractured reservoir, the main challenge was to design the well as to optimize production. To achieve this, a trajectory was sought to conciliate the interception of a large amount of fractures with the contribution of the most porous and permeable regions of the rock.
This success resulted from the overcoming of several challenges faced in well construction, ranging from a daring design, which includes a horizontal section of some 1,500 meters in length, to the execution phases.

The MLL-54 well was the first one to produce for FPSO Cidade de Niteroi. The platform also counts on production from well MLL-20D to reach the current 53,000 bpd.
In total, the offshore unit, with daily capacity to produce 100,000 barrels of oil and 3.5 mm cm of gas, will have seven more oil wells and one gas well connected to it and production there is expected to peak in 2011.