Hess Corp. fails to find oil in pre-salt layer well in Brazil
- Source: Xinhua
- [08:48 July 09 2009]
- Comments
US oil company Hess Corporation announced on Tuesday its failure in finding any traces of oil or natural gas in a well drilled in the Guarani Field in Brazil's pre-salt layer oil reserves area.
According to Hess, the drilling stopped at the depth of 5,000 meters.
The company has decided to withdraw from the business for not finding hydrocarbons. It's still unclear how seriously the investments made so far would impact the company's results.
It's the first time a company can't manage to find oil or gas in a well in Brazil's pre-salt layer. Located beneath a salt layer, it's rich in hydrocarbons with an average depth of 2,000 meters, spreading over 800 km of Brazil's southeastern and southern coast.
The absence of hydrocarbons in this area denies the belief that finding oil or natural gas in the Brazil's pre-salt layer fields is 100 percent guaranteed.
Hess is the well's operator, owning 40 percent of the business while Exxon also possess 40 percent. Brazil's state-owned oil and gas giant Petrobras holds the rest.
Presently, the only pre-salt fields with reserves discovered are Tupi and Iara. Altogether their reserves range from eight to 12 billion barrels.