OREANDA-NEWS. December 27, 2012. Statoil is expanding its exploration portfolio through the acquisition of 25% participating interest from Vale SA in BM-ES-22A in the Espirito Santo Basin offshore Brazil.

 BM-ES-22A is comprised of the two Blocks ES-M-468 and ES-M-527. Petrobras is the operator with 75% equity and Vale holds a 25% share. It is located in the Outer Espirito Santo Basin partially adjacent to the BM-ES-32 license where Statoil is partner and which holds the Indra discovery.

“The acquisition allows Statoil to expand its position in a prioritised basin for Statoil. The position is in line with Statoil’s exploration strategy of deepening core areas”, says Nick Maden, senior vice president, Exploration International.

 “The exploration results over the last years in the Espirito Santo Basin give encouragement for further exploration in this area. The planned activity within BM-ES-22A will further test this play, but still with some exploration risk”, he adds.

The Indra discovery straddles the border between BM-ES-22A and BM-ES-32, Statoil will now be part of the on-going appraisal well on Indra in BM-ES-22A. There is also one exploration well planned for 2013.

The transaction is subject to approval by Brazilian authorities and other conditions to closing.

The Indra discovery was made in BM-ES-32 where Petrobras is the operator with 60 % interest. Statoil holds the remaining 40 % interest. The exploration well was completed in December 2010 at a water depth of 2,130 metres. The well found 70 meters of light oil in a good quality sandstone reservoir.

Statoil has a diverse exploration portfolio in Brazil and in February 2012, Statoil participated in the high-impact discovery Pao de Acucar together with operator Repsol Sinopec and partner Petrobras in block BM-C-33, positioning Statoil as an important long-term partner in Brazil's attractive and growing oil and gas industry.

Statoil is the operator of the Peregrino field in Brazil, which came on stream in April 2011 and is currently the largest international operator in the country.