BRASILIA, Brazil, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- British gas giant BG Group announced with its partners that tests of the Iara well in the Santos Basin off the Brazilian coast proved the exploration potential.
BG Group said it concluded the formation test of the Iara well in its BM-S-11 appraisal area located about 140 miles off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
Tests for the Iara well confirmed that estimated recoverable reserves approach 4 billion barrels of light crude oil and natural gas, the company said.
The well was tested in water depths of 7,316 feet. It is the third well that encountered hydrocarbons for BP Group and its partners in the BM-S-11 area.
Petrobras serves as the operators of the Iara well, with BG holding a 25 percent stake and Portugal's Galp holding 10 percent. The consortium said it plans to drill another well in 2010 because it had to relocate the drilling rig.
Hydrocarbon traces in several wells associated with the Carioca and Guara fields make offshore Brazil one of the largest sources of new hydrocarbon reserves in the world.
