Santos Basin

Geological Sketch

This basin is located on the southeast portion of the Brazilian continental margin, offshore from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina States. The southern boundary with Pelotas Basin is Florianópolis High, whilst the northern boundary with the Campos Basin is Cabo Frio High. With a total area of 352,260 km² up to 3,000m isobath, the Santos Basin constitutes the most extensive of Brazil's coastal basins. The basin was the target for a recent 2D seismic spec survey.

The drilling of 150 exploration wells has resulted in the discovery of 5 oil fields (Tubarão, Coral, Estrela do Mar, Caravela and Caravela Sul) and a gas condensate field (Merluza), that combine to give an original oil equivalent in-place volume of 190 MM m³. The most recent discoveries, still being evaluated, were made on blocks BS-3, BS-4 and BS-500 after the drilling of 28 wells, encompassing reservoirs from tertiary to cretaceous, increasing the exploratory potential of the basin.

Characterization of Crude Oils
	GSI is conducting a new geochemical study of oils in the Santos basin aimed at identifying and comparing the petroleum systems that have contributed to accumulations in this petroliferous basin. 33 crude oils from 24 wells will be analyzed using state-of-the-art oil fingerprinting techniques to evaluate the major factors governing oil quality and quantity.

Piston Coring Survey
	A series of seabed piston coring surface geochemical studies to identify sites of oil and gas seeps in the offshore Santos Basin of Brazil have been conducted by GEOCHEMICAL SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL (GSI). These non-exclusive, multi-client surface geochemical projects were developed by GSI to assist in the evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of deep-water Brazilian marginal basins.

2-D Compositional Basin Modeling Study
	A two-dimensional (2-D) basin modeling study has been conducted in the Santos Basin to provide a better understanding of its petroleum systems. This is one of a series of regional 2-D modeling studies being developed jointly by GEOCHEMICAL SOLUTIONS and BEICIP-FRANLAB to evaluate the petroleum potential of several exploration areas along the Brazilian marginal basins.

Integrated Study of The Petroleum Systems
	The Santos Basin is located along the southeastern Brazilian coast, adjacent to the states of Paraná, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's most industrialized region. Spanning a total area greater than 300,000 km2 up to 3,000m depth, it is the largest of Brazil's marginal basins.