Brazil’s 3R Petroleum targeting US$120mn capex for 2022

Brazil’s 3R Petroleum plans to invest US$120mn in 2022 and US$750mn by 2025 in the development of eight oil and gas production assets, a company spokesperson told BNamericas.

The capex estimation considers the reserve certification reports for the Macau, Areia Branca, Ventura, Recôncavo, Fazenda Belém, Peroá, Pescada/Arabaiana and Papa-Terra hubs, with a volume of 264Mboe (million barrels of oil equivalent) in certified probable and proven (2P) reserves.

Currently, 3R operates the Macau and Areia Branca hubs, in Rio Grande do Norte, and the Rio Ventura hub, in Bahia, and is about to take over operations of the Recôncavo hub, in Bahia, Fazenda Belém, in Ceará, Peroá, in Espírito Santo, Pescada and Arabaiana, in Rio Grande do Norte, and the Papa Terra hub, in Rio de Janeiro.

The consolidated average daily production of Macau, Areia Branca, Ventura and Pescada (where the company currently holds a 35% stake) totaled 9,981boe in February 2022. Of this total, the portion related to 3R reached a daily average production of 9,176boe.

3R invested US$26.4mn in 2021, up 841% from 2020. 

Last year, the company completed a series of strategic moves, among which were the acquisitions of the Peroá, Papa Terra and Areia Branca hubs and the Sanhaçu field, in addition to the signing of the Potiguar hub purchase contract. 

“The [Potiguar] asset will substantially increase the scale of production and the capacity to replenish and increase reserves in the coming years, positioning the company as the main and largest independent player in the oil and gas industry in Brazil in the coming years,” 3R said in its 4Q21 financial report. 

Source: 3R Petroleum

With the Potiguar hub added to its portfolio, 3R will have around 78% of its production coming from onshore/near shore assets, “ensuring competitive extraction costs and greater flexibility to implement investment projects than when compared to a mostly offshore portfolio,” according to the report. 

“The asset ensures access to international markets and, together with the offshore portfolio, will allow 3R to have the flexibility to export more than 90% of the oil of its portfolio's oil production, in addition to the production of other players in the Potiguar basin,” 3R added.