OREANDA-NEWS. March 25, 2011. OGX, the Brazilian oil and gas company responsible for the largest private sector exploratory campaign in Brazil, announced that it has identified the presence of hydrocarbons in the Albian section of well 3-OGX-36D-RJS, an appraisal well of the Pipeline accumulation which was initially discovered through the drilling of well 1-OGX-2A. This well is located 2.6 km from the wildcat 1-OGX-2A, in the BM-C-41 block, in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin. OGX holds a 100% working interest in this block.

"As we expected, the results from OGX-36D confirm the connectivity of the accumulations in the carbonate reservoirs in the Albian section previously discovered through the drilling of well 1-OGX-2A, Pipeline", commented Paulo Mendonca, General Executive Officer of OGX. "This is another very important step in the appraisal phase as we continue to delineate our discoveries in the Campos Basin", added Mendonca.

As anticipated, the oil column is of approximately 135 meters with a net pay of about 60 meters. This directional well, drilled to a depth of 3,612 meters, is a pilot well for the horizontal well that will be drilled next.  A drill-stem test will be performed to verify the productivity of this area, as was done recently for the Waimea accumulation, where exceptional results were obtained.

The OGX-36D well is located in the BM-C-41 block and is situated about 77 kilometers off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro at a water depth of approximately 128 meters. The rig, Ocean Star, initiated drilling activities there on February 14, 2011.