Petrobras, the Consortium BM-S-9 operator, presented yesterday (19) the Declaration of Commercial Viability to the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) for the oil accumulation in the Carioca area in the pre-salt Santos Basin

In the proposal submitted to the regulatory body, the consortium suggested that the new field, formed by reservoirs of good quality oil (around 26º API), should be called Lapa. With an estimated total recoverable volume of 459 million barrels of oil equivalent, Lapa is another large field discovered in the Brazilian pre-salt.

The Lapa field is located approximately 270 km off the coast of the state of São Paulo and in around 2,140 meters of water.

Along with the Declaration of Commercial Viability, the consortium submitted the Final Report to the ANP of the Discovery Assessment plan, run after the first well was drilled in 2007.

Petrobras and its BM-S-9 Consortium partners acquired 3D seismic data, drilled five wells, carried out three formation tests and an extended well test.

The BM-S-9 consortium is operated by Petrobras (45%) in partnership with BG E&P Brasil (30%) and Repsol Sinopec Brasil (25%). After the Declaration of Commercial Viability, the Lapa field Development Plan will be submitted to the ANP within 180 days.

The Company's 2013-2017 Business and Management Plan plans for the first oil from this field in the third quarter of 2016.

In 2011, the consortium had already declared that the Sapinhoá field (in the Guara area), also situated in BM-S-9, was commercially viable. Sapinhoá currently produces about 30,000 barrels of oil per day through the FPSO Cidade de São Paulo with a single interconnected production well. The remaining wells will be interconnected at the start of 2014.