Brazil

The first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Angola LNG plant is on its way to Brazil on the SS Sonangol Sambizanga, one of seven 160,000-cubic meter LNG vessels contracted to the Angola LNG project, one of the largest energy projects on the African continent. Angola LNG is a partnership of Sonangol, Chevron Corp., BP plc, ENI and Total that will gather and process gas to produce and deliver LNG and natural gas liquids (NGL). “First gas at Angola LNG is an important milestone in support of our strategic plan to grow our production,” said George Kirkland, Chevron vice chairman. The $10 billion project will collect and transport gas from offshore Angola to an onshore liquefaction plant on the coast near the Congo River. The project has the capacity to produce 5.2 million metric tons per year of LNG, 63,000 b/d of NGL for export and 125 MMcf/d of natural gas for domestic consumption, Chevron said. “The project represents the first LNG project in Angola, and it is expected to contribute to the development of Angola’s natural gas industry,” said Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Co. Five and a half years ago it was expected that some supply from Angola LNG would land in the United States (see Daily GPI, Dec. 11, 2007).

Surging shale oil reserves in the United States led BP plc to apparently secure permission, and Royal Dutch Shell plc to apply, for export licenses to ship U.S. crude oil supplies to Canada and possibly elsewhere.

Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has launched production at the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Chinook field, connecting its second well to the first floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel platform in U.S. waters.

Brazil’s Petroleo Brasilerio SA, better known as Petrobras, has ramped up production from a well connected to the first floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel platform in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

A shift by global natural gas and oil companies to unconventionals, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the deepwater has lifted prospective value growth across the upstream sector by 23% from a year ago, according to new research by industry consultant Wood Mackenzie.

Petrobras America Inc., a subsidiary of the Brazil’s Petrobras, Thursday won final approval to begin oil and natural gas production off the coast of Louisiana using a floating production storage offloading (FPSO) facility. This is the first time that this technology will be used in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM), which approved the permit and operating plan for the project.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has granted preliminary approval to Petroleo Brasilerio (Petrobras), Brazil’s state-owned oil company, to build the first floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility in the Gulf of Mexico, a company executive said this week.

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and Brazil’s Petroleo Brasilerio (Petrobras) are said to be close to forming a strategic alliance to share information and technology for deepwater Gulf of Mexico exploration, Mexico’s Reforma said Friday. Under the first phase of the alliance, Petrobras would give Pemex new technology for its fledgling deepwater Gulf of Mexico exploration while Pemex would provide information about its reserves and deposits.

Brazil’s state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) announced Tuesday it had found “high quality” gas reserves in a Garden Banks 244 Block well, operated by its subsidiary Petrobras America in the deep water Gulf Of Mexico.