Brazilian oil company Enauta has agreed to take full ownership of the working interest in Block BS-4, offshore Brazil, where the producing Atlanta field is located.

The company, previously known as Quireoz Galvao, opted to take over an additional 50 percent interest in the offshore block in the Santos Basin from its partner Barra Energia, which last month announced its decision to withdraw from the block.

Barra’s move left Enauta to decide whether to take Barra’s stake in the block or to proceed with the joint abandonment of the project, once the early production system – Petrojarl I FPSO - has ceased operations. 

Enauta said Monday it had decided to acquire Barra's stake. After approval from the oil and gas regulators, Barra Energia will transfer $43.9 million to Enauta related to the abandonment operations of the three wells and decommissioning of existing facilities at the field. 

Only 1,25% of oil produced

Décio Oddone, Enauta’s CEO said: "Atlanta has 1.3 billion barrels of oil in place, of which only 1.25% has been produced so far. We made this decision because we believe it is possible to develop a more resilient project that can create value, despite a scenario of lower oil prices.” 

Enauta said it would seek partners to develop the field and start the bidding process for FPSO freight operations, "a key stage for the project’s approval."  

Teekay Petrojarl I, the current FPSO at the field, had spent almost three decades working in the North Sea, before moving to Brazil, where it started production at the Atlanta field in 2018.

In an update on November 11, Enauta said it expected average daily production at the Atlanta Field of 20 thousand barrels of oil per day for 2020 and 16 thousand barrels of oil per day for 2021. It is not clear if this projection still stands given that, on November 19, Enauta announced the " preventive suspension" of Atlanta Field’s production, after corrosion found in some of equipment that could harm functionality.

"Enauta decided to suspend operations as a preventative measure until doubts are conclusively clarified. The Company is analyzing with technical advisers and the FPSO operator the possible measures and deadlines required so that stable and safe operations can be resumed," the company said at the time.