Brazilian oil and gas company PetroRio has received regulatory approval for a revised development plan of the Frade oil field offshore Brazil.

The new development plan, approved by the national oil industry regulator ANP, allows the drilling of four production wells and three horizontal
injection wells in the Frade Field. 

The ANP also authorized the immediate resumption of water injection in two existing injection wells, until the beginning of the new injection wells’ operation (or one year).

The first phase of the Frade Field drilling campaign includes the drilling of one production well and two injection wells, expected to start between 4Q21 and 1Q22. 

PetroRio became the operator of the Frade field when it in 2019 bought Chevron's 51.74% stake in the producing field - including the FPSO Frade - increasing its interest to 70%. It then, in October 2019, bought a further 18.3% stake from Japanese trio Inpex, Sojitz, and Jogmec.

PetroRio said that, after the completion of the drilling works at Frade, it plans to start working on the Wahoo development.

According to the reserve certification report published by DeGolyer & MacNaughton in 2021, the Wahoo Field has more than 125 million barrels classified as 1C resources, in addition to approximately 7 million 1C barrels to be added to the Frade Field, due to its life extension.

PetroRio previously said that the Wahoo base project would include the drilling of four producer wells and two injector wells and the tieback between the wells and the Frade FPSO. 

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. According to PetroRio's previous press statements, 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. First oil from the Wahoo field is expected in early 2024.

 Credit: PetroRio