.

"
Front cover
The preservation of Lajedo's
paintings is of concern for Petrobras
Contents
Petro bras gasoline
fills up car tanks abroad
Environment, quality,
and safety are integrated at Petrobras
Deep water
5,000 years of history at Lajedo
Petrobras' presence
on the international market
Aleijadinho
Petro bras studies tectonics in the Antarctic
Bolivia-Brazil pipeline
Notes
Highlights
PETROBRAS MAGAZINE
2
6
10
16
20
24
28
31
32
33
Published quarterly by the Petro bras Public Affairs Service I International Relations Office
Avenida Republica do Chile, 65 - 20th floor- 20.035-900- Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Phone: (55-21) 534-1295 - Fax: (55-21) 262-0271 - Telex: (55-21) 23335 PETRA BR
General Manager of the Public Affairs Service: Luiz Evanio Dias Couto. Head of the
International Relations Office: Luiz A. M. da Fonseca. Editorial Board: Carlos Aguiar
Teixeira, Carlos Leonam Rosado Penna, Guilherme Duque Estrada, Guilherme de Oliveira
Estrella, Luiz Carlos Costarnilan, Luiz Evanio Dias Couto, Renato Tadeu Bertani. Editor:
Angela Lemos. Staff Writer: Jose Carlos Cidade. Translators: Jra Lee, Diane Grosklal:ls.
Graphic Design: Ufficio Esttidio de Arte. Photos: Eliana Fernandes, Jonio Machado, SIl-
vio Barrocas. Vitor Abreu.
Partial or complete reproduction of articles published herein is not prohibited as long as the
source is mentioned.
Copyright 1993 by Petrobras
Word from the
PETR08RAS
/
IH,CE8IDO 1M]
Chairman
BIBLtOTECA DA ADMINISTRACAQ
CENTRAL - SAC
EHMPUK tlA fttffft(lCl1
I
n thi\-':rI"".:l'T""'tl"m, rn " ationalization of
celebrates its 40
th
Petro bras has been taking
anniversary, the company place in a gradual and
continues to demonstrate the continual manner. We expect
business maturity that ranks it to be here to stay.
among the world's leading Our affiliate, Petrobras
integrated oil companies. Internacional , has been
Petroleum exploration and
production in deep water is
the company's core
competence. This fact was
internationally recognized at
the 1992 Offshore Technology
Conference in Houston when
Petrobnls was the recipient of
the Distinguished
Achievement Award for
Companies, Organizations,
and Institutions. Petro bras
likewise operates in all other
areas of the oil business,
always with complete
cognizance of the latest
concepts and techniques for
quality, safety, and
environmental conservation.
This triple-play combination -
quality, safety, and
environmental conservation -
has become intrinsically
associated with activities
bearing the company's seal.
operating in petroleum
exploration and production in
a number of countries on
various continents, as well as
rendering engineering and
drilling services. Its busy
marketing in crude oil and
exporting oil products
likewise reflect Petrobras'
resolute determination to go
after business abroad.
With the start-up of the
Southern Cone Common
Market (Mercosul), Petrobras
has naturally been expanding
its trade relations in nations
comprising this market.
Along these lines, Petro bras
recently signed contracts with
state and private oil
companies in Argentina for
imports of petroleum from
that country and for purchase
and sales of oil products.
A binational project with
Bolivia to import natural gas
from that country was
formally signed betwen
Petrobras and the Bolivian oil
company, YPFB and ratified
by the Presidents of Brazil and
Bolivia last February.
2 4 MAl i993
1-----
III1LIOTECA DA
cemw. !lAO
These are important steps
toward the energy integration
policy among the Southern
Cone countries.
On publishing the first
edition of its magazine for
international readers,
Petro bras wishes to make
itself better known, furnishing
news and information about
our most relevant activities to
customers and readers abroad.
This first edition of the
magazine deals with topics
mentioned here briefly as well
as a little bit about Brazilian
culture, because Petro bras
plays an active role in helping
to preserve it. There is an
article about one of the most
noted sculptors from the
Brazilian baroque and another
about a project sponsored by
the company relating the
history of man's 5,OOO-year
presence in the Vale do
Apodi, northeastern Brazil.
This wasn't mere
happenstance. In fact, it's
a special tribute to man,
the greatest asset any
company can have.
Joel Mendes Renno
Produced according to the customer's specific
requirements, Petrobras gasoline has been opening markets
all over the world.
I
mporting around 40% of the
crude oil required to supply
its domestic demand for
derivatives, Brazil also exports
oil products. This is the case with
lube oils, paraffin, low-sulfur fuel
oils as well as gasoline, exported
in major quantities since the
beginning of the '80s when
alcohol fuel consumption began
trending upward.
Produced according to
each consuming country's
specifications, Brazilian gasoline
undergoes a rigorous quality
control program running from
refining through final delivery.
In addition, marketing is carried
out directly with oil companies,
distributors, and blenders.
In the late-'80s, Brazil was the
largest outside source of gasoline
for t ~ United States when its
exports of gasoline peaked.
Since then, increased
consumption in Brazil has
reduced its export volumes.
Of the 34,000 bpd exported
in 1992,21,000 bpd were
earmarked for the American
market. In 1992, the country was
the fifth largest supplier, but the
United States continued leading
as the top consumer of Petrobras'
gasoline exports. The market for
Petrobnls gasoline also includes
Mexico, Argentina, Colombia,
several African and, upon
occasion, European and
Asian nations.
The final destination of
exported gasoline is determined
by international demand and the
geographic proximity of the
importing countries.
These reasons explain the
United States' predominant
position in this market.
Besides accounting for
half of the world's consumption
of the product - around seven
million bpd - the US is located
close enough to Brazil, which
minimizes transport costs.
Why export?
Why does an oil-importing
country export gasoline?
In the case of Brazil, the reason
lies in the integrated planning
performed by Petrobras,
thoroughly examining the
suitability of such operations.
Import-export operations
made by Petrobras are just as
complex as they are in any other
part of the world. The goal is
always the same: quality and
optimizing resources. As the
operator of the state's monopoly
on petroleum and with 51 % of its
shares under government control,
Petrobras carries out all activities
pertaining to the supply of
petroleum and oil products
throughout Brazil in an
integrated manner. It should be
kept in mind that the company's
mission comprises supplying
petroleum and oil products in
every region of the country.
The company operates 10
refmeries, an asphalt plant,
and nine terminals.
The company's production,
refining, transport, and
marketing sectors work closely
together on a continual basis.
It also has offices in London
and New York.
This integration is made possible
thanks to a comprehensive
computer system known as
Integrated Planning, one of the
most complex software programs
of its type in the world.
Data inputs from the production,
refining, and transport sectors
make it possible to create market
strategies which take into
consideration such variables as
crude oil supply, regional
demand for oil products, refining
and transport costs. A total of
around 10,000 variables are
balanced and counterbalanced
until the most economically
feasible solutions are reached.
Five out of the 10 Petrobras refineries produce gasoline f or exports.
3
Petrobras' gasoline exports are
feasible because this fuel has
only a 12.2% participation in
domestic consumption.
The percentage is relatively small
compared with diesel oil which
heads up the demand list,
accounting for 31.6% of the
consumption in a market totaling
1,431,000 bpd of oil products
and fuel alcohol. These
percentages are based on 1992
data. This feature of the
Brazilian market is due to the
predominance of truck transport.
Implementation of the fuel
alcohol program (pr6-Alcool) at
the end of the '70s made possible
a gradual increase in the
consumption of this product
based on sugarcane. At the
same time, it cut back domestic
gasoline consumption.
Demand for fuel alcohol grew
rapidly during the '80s.
Consumption jumped from
2.7 million bbl in 1980 to 68
million bbl in 1989.
In 1988, the United States
was able to absorb up to 12
shiploads of Petrobras gasoline
in a single month. This added
up 3.6 million barrels, or 120,000
bpd, around 2% of the United
States' seven million bpd
consumption at that time.
A crisis in alcohol production at
the beginning of the '90s led to a
drop in the volume of gasoline
exports. The shortfall of alcohol
on the domestic market caused
the 68 million bbl of fuel alcohol
consumed in 1989 to drop to 61
million bbl in '92. As a reflection
of the alcohol crisis, Brazil
began exporting an average of
four shiploads per month in '92
compared to the nine
monthly shiploads it averaged
during 1989.
The revenues brought in from
these exports help offset the
costs of importing oil and oil
Gasoline for expons is produced according to
customer's specific requirements.
PETROBRAS GASOLINE EXP TO USA X GASOLINE IMP USA (%)
%
20
18 -----------------------------------------
16 -------------------------------------------
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
o
-
-
-
-
-
--
--
14,'
1989
EXP. (BRA) (bbVd) 55, 062
IMP. (USA) (bbl/d) 369,000
8,'
1990
29,706
333,000
4
8,1 f--
5,8
- --
- --
1991 1992
16,766 21,770
296, 000 313,000
products. Brazilian consumers
benefit from this strategy because
they pay prices set by the
government in accordance to
actual production costs.
The advantages of exporting
are obvious. But the question
isn't quite that simple. There is
also the issue of refining.
A refinery might or might not be
scheduled to produce gasoline
for export depending on
international prices for the
product, the characteristics of the
oil being processed, demand
patterns in the consuming
markets, and local conditions for
shipping the product.
Quality control
Gasoline exports require meeting
the importers' product specs.
This involves considerations
such as octane ratings, sulfur
content, distillation and vapor
pressure.
Quality control begins
during production planning.
Refinery output is set in
accordance with customer
requirements. In the case of the
American market, for instance,
there are numerous specifications
including those contingent
upon the region where the
product will be consumed.
Gasoline characteristics also
vary according to the season.
Since there is a lag of 15 to 16
days between shipping the
product in Brazil and unloading
it in the United States, refinery
scheduling must also include
a variable controlling design
and production of gasoline with
specifications for the
following month.
The other phases of quality
control consist of laboratory
analyses of samples taken at
practically every production
phase right up to delivery to the
importing country. The idea is to
Specifications
MON
OCT
RON
min
(R + M)/2
%S, wt
PVR, pSi , max
provide the consumer with total
quality assurance.
Phases in
quality control
The fIrst step consists of
selecting the type of crude oil
suited to produce gasoline for a
given export market.
Then, gasoline for export is
analyzed at the refmery during
processing and tankage
operations. The product is also
tested during pipeline pumping
operations while it moves
through pipeline stretches over
50 km in length. After being
tanked at a terminal, the gasoline
goes through further analyses
with emphasis on guaranteeing
the reliability of test results and
assuring consistency among the
various labs performing tests
along the way.
While a tanker is being loaded
with gasoline for export, yet
another analysis is made of the
product in the presence of
representatives from an
independent inspection company.
Samples are taken from all
the tanker's holds. The volume
of each sample is in direct
proportion to the amount in
each hold.
GASOLINE SPECIFICATION


82/83
80
87/89/93
0.10 0.20
7.5 10.1
Tests in Brazil are carried
out by labs at the refIneries
themselves because independent
testing companies are not fully
equipped to make all necessary
tests. Results are checked and
if there are any discrepancies,
the tests are performed again.
The statistical data obtained at
the end of a shipment plus
the samples themselves are
retained by the inspecting
companies for 90 days.
But that's not all. Further
gasoline samples are taken at the
port where the product is
discharged. Petrobras'
representatives are right there at
the port to follow-up on test
82
90
87
0.10 0.20
9.5 9.5
results. In this way, the cycle of
testing, from refIning to fInal
delivery, is completed.
Petrobras maintains a running
check on developments in the
quality it exports. The purpose is
to ascertain the operational
characteristics of its refIneries
and the types of petroleum being
processed. By doing so, the
company can forecast what types
of gasoline will be available here
in Brazil over the short- and
medium-terms. As a result, it
can optimize marketing
strategies on the basis of product
quality. 0
. ;cpo rte r
W
orldwide.
PetTobras h/JS
liable gasoline e
become a re
5
A balance in terms of
I
E
nvironmental concern at
Petrobnis, responsible for
carrying out oil activities in an
integrated manner in Brazil, date
back to 1974, two years after the
--..Ii ..... .".. .....
United Nations Conference 9_
the Environmen.!JWd at-
Stoc;1dlol weden. The -
.. Environmental _
- -.
-....
Control Policy-wa established at
that time.
rom then on, the development -
o Pkns to protecl.man and
environmen! encOllraged-_
Petrobras to a
department in1 977,
directly to the company's
President. The purPose of th;
new department was to provide
-
environment, quality, and
industrial safety is a reality
at Petrobras
Related and interdependent areas work in harmony at all
decision-making levels
. mproved means to deal with
these topics in a manner
consistent with the thinking .
"at that time.
General Principles for
Environmental
a in 1985.
lace emphasis on sucl1.aspects
- as priorities, and
foresight when carrying out
acti vities with - a potential for "'-
causing environrnentikUnpact.
These principles were
a sharper definitiOn in
1989 when the General
Guidelines for Environmental
Management were issued.
The guideli es expre...s the.
company's prime areas of
foc u in terms _
of environmental issues. .
-
The following princIples were _
inclu e lIT the guidelines: _
problems 10
order to adopt preventive
strategies;
Training and motivatiag
human resources;
Adapting technological and
material resources to rno];
intensive use of technologies -
with less polluting irnpaGt;
Concern abotarllre s The company is fully aware
that the concepts, practices, and
characteristics of issues related
to the envlfonment, quality, and
industrial safety are closely
relafe<f,interdependent, and
overlap in many cases.
econonlic
- without
detriment t<Mhe public's
quality of life;
. ' reating local, regional and
nationwlde' contingency
lans against oi! spills and
similar . ncidelUs involving
- .....
oil products;
Considering the
environmental issue in all
aecision-making processes
-when new
industtial complexes.
-
-.
With the public's increasing ... _
concern about the
and industria1"safety..at the
eJi1"'ef the '8Qs., Petrobras' top... -
policy was clearly
expressed in the company's
. Master The"plan
- emtmstrates the company's
determination regarding
environmental conservation, the
quality of its processes, products,
and services, and the safety its
. ckrstrial These are
as ti,tical factors40 be
successfully accomplishe .
This means..that;; ssues related to
the envrronment and industrial
To manage these factors in
, :a coherent fashion, Petrobras
gave over all of these
issues to a single department, the
Environmental, Quality, and
Industrial Safety Service
(Susema), created in January
1991, under the direct
jurisdiction of the company's
President. As a result, the entire
Pe!fobras group focuses its
attention and directs its activities
with regard to these three areas
of endeavor in an integrated

Six months later in June 1991,
the company's Board established
the Petrobnis Process for the
Environment, Quality, and
Industrial Safety with the aim of
attaining the strategic iectives
J aid down in its Master Plan
involving these three areas of
genera1 concern.
Susema's way of dealing with
these factors also underwent
changes. It stopped being an
operational department to take
over essentially institutional
-
attributes. When the company's
Board passed the Petro bras
Process for the Environment,
Quality, and Industrial Safety,
Susema became the company's
prime tool for promoting and
developing its strategies,
programs, and activities in terms
of these factors.
The guiding principles and
methodologies in this process of
re-evaluating managerial
methods, philosophy, and culture
are expressed in the phrase
"Total Quality Management."
This means priority is given to
satisfying internal and external
customers, stockholders, and the
public. It means a continuous
search to improve things at all
organizational levels. It is
management based upon facts
and data. .
Results attained
Eighteen months after its
implementation, the Petrobras
Process for the Environment,
Quality, and Industrial Safety has
yielded considerable results in
terms of mobilizing company
employees and making them
aware of the issues involved.
This is especially the case at the
managerial level. The staff was
encouraged to take a stance that
is activist, transparent, and
participative. The goals are to
reduce any impact resulting from
the company's activities as well
as continuously upgrade the
quality of Petrobras products and
services, keeping them up to
international standards. In this
way, everyone involved helps
make Petrobras more
competitive, in harmony and
accepted by customers and the
general public.
The changes in attitudes in terms
of relationships with customers
and the public, greater
integration among its various
departments, and the use of
quality and productivity
indicators are also examples of
results attained that deserve
mention.
Petrobnis applies, on average,
7% to 10% of its overall
investments on environmental
conservation projects, an
equivalent to around $150
million to $200 million per year.
In view of the country's
geographic and social variety,
accounting for diversities in its
projects and in federal and local
regulations covering the regions
where it operates, Petro bras
adopted a decentralized, regional
method in dealing with
environmental questions. This
makes it possible for its various
departments located in each
region to operate in a cohesive
and efficient manner.
As an example of the way the
policy of decentralized, regional
authority has worked out, eight
seminars were held in 1992 with
environmental control agencies
from various Brazilian states.
At these seminars, 442 programs
were presented in the
environmental area tailored to
each region's requirements but
GUIDELINES FOR FUNDAMENTAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
Bearing in mind this internal and external climate established by the company's Master Plan, Petrobras prepared a list of priority
guidelines covering the environment, quality, and industrial safety. These guidelines are to be put into effect from 1993 to 1997.
Their goal is to reduce the impact of the company's activities, making the organization better prepared to face
the challenges of current economic and cultural realities in a competitive manner.
Environmental guidelines
Establish indicators, methods, and standards for a systematic evalu
ation of performance in tenns of environmental aspects;
Create programs for environmental auditing;
Promote a continuation and concrete execution of sectorial programs;
Develop programs and activities aimed at fostering relationships with
the public and local officials;
Promote the commitment of all managers to Total Quality Management;
Implement an intemal system to audit the company's overall efficiency
in terms of quality, skills, morale, unifonn perfonnance, cost, and at
tending internal and external customers;
Program activities aiming toward continuous improvement in the quality
of processes, products, and services.
Prepare and/or update local and regional contingency plans;
Program development and training for human resources;
Guidelines for industrial safety
Consider environmental aspects at all decisionmaking processes for
implanting new installations.
Quality guidelines
Implement Total Quality Management in harmony with the guidelines
set in the National Quality Award;
Implement a system to identify the needs of internal and external
Petrobras customers;
Assure that all managers know the concepts and techniques of Total
Quality Management;
8
Prepare sectorial programs intended to eliminate noncompliance with
legislation as well as to adapt installations to meet the stipulations of
current standards for protecting workers and company assets;
Establish indicators and methodologies for systematically evaluating
perfonnance in tenns of protecting workers and company assets;
Program development and training for human resources;
Survey material and human resources in the industrial safety field aim
ing at optimizing them within the overall scope of the Petrobras group;
Incorporate all aspects related to worker and industrial installation pro
tection and safety as part of general operational procedures;
Prepare programs for risk analysis and management for company in-
stallations.
still fully integrated with the
company's various departments.
In these programs, most of them
presently underway, funds
equivalent to around $225
million were earmarked to be
applied over an I8-month period.
Protection against oil
spills at sea
Oil spills at sea are a potential
environmental hazard the oil
industry must face up to, and the
entire topic is being given the
highest priority. New design
requisites for tankers, offshore
platforms, and maritime
terminals are under study. The
following are examples of the
current approach.
Requiring tankers to have
separate ballast systems;
More sophisticated
monitoring systems to detect
leaks, seepage,measure
volume levels, etc.;
A more selective process for
chartering vessels;
Systematic prior inspections
of vessels and other offshore
systems;
Contingency plans to handle
oil spills;
Improving efficiency of
effluent treatment and oil
separation systems at
platforms and terminals.
In addition to the above concrete
measures and preventive
programs, Petrobras built a
Model Center for Prevention,
Control and Fighting Oil
Pollution at Sea in 1985.
The center was set up adjacent to
the company's largest terminal,
located at Sao Sebastiao, Sao
Paulo. It has proven to be one of
the most successful experiments
for training and preparing
personnel to deal with the issue.
Nearly 2,000 persons have taken
courses at the center, including
company employees, public
officials, and members of
neighboring communities.
Due to the highly positive
results achieved at the
Sao Sebastiao center, the
company has earmarked
investments equivalent to
$10 million to construct five
additional centers at other
company terminals for
preventing, controlling, and
fighting oil pollution at sea.
Involving the
community in safety
and risk analysis
Aware of the need to
assure both safety and
operational continuity at its
installations, plus consistently
manage the risks inherent to its
operations, Petro bras
implemented engineering
reliability and risk analysis
programs covering new
projects as well as already
existent installations.
The new designs for industrial
complexes incorporate feasible
environmental technologies.
They are not merely intended to
comply with legislation in force,
but also to promote a harmonious
relationship between man and
his environment. These projects
for industrial complexes are
d i s u s ~ e d and examined at the
community level starting from
the preliminary-study phase right
up to conclusion of works.
Agreements and joint
undertakings
Dominating technologies
recognized for their quality
throughout the world, Petrobras
has been focusing its attention on
a number of programs dealing
directly with conserving the
country's natural resources.
The goal is to achieve an
improvement in living standards,
developing products and
equipment which do not interfere
with the ecosystems where
they're utilized. They should also
ensure that man lives in harmony
with his natural assets.
For this reason, the company has
likewise sought to stimulate
research and technical
cooperation by means of
agreements and contracts with
government agencies,
universities, and research
institutes in general. The aim is
always to develop new
technologies which are also
intrinsically clean.
Supply: quality with
safety and respect for
the environment
Completing the cycle
"from well to service station,"
the distribution of oil products by
the Petrobnis group is carried out
by its affiliated company,
Petrobras Distribuidora - BR.
This company operates a
lubricants plant and has a
network of 6,500 service stations
plus 7,000 industrial customers.
It serves the most remote
locations in the country. BR uses
advanced technology and strict
criteria for quality. This assures
that completing the petroleum
cycle is also performed safely
and with respect for the
environment.
In these ways, we are certain
Petrobras undertakes its activities
with unyielding determination,
yet fully within the scope of the
basic premises and concepts
for sustainable development.
This means dealing with
economic and environmental
aspects in a converging and
simultaneous manner at all
decision-making levels. 0
9
....... p water
A brief look at Petrobras technology
N
o other oil company in
the world invests as much in
developing subsea technology for
deep- water petroleum production
as Petrobras.
Exploration of offshore Brazilian
sedimentary basins began in
1968 when the Guaricema field
off the coast of Sergipe was
discovered. The big strikes,
however, came several years
later with the discovery of the
Campos Basin off the coast of
the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Today, Campos is the nation's
richest oil-producing area and
accounts for 60% of the 650,000
bopd produced in the country.
After completing its 15
th
consecutive year of producing oil
and gas in September 1992, the
Campos Basin also celebrated
the fact it's the stage for the most
significant achievements and
technological advances
attempted anywhere in the world
in the search for oil in waters
beyond the continental shelf.
From the time Petrobras
put its first production systems
on stream at the Enchova field in
1977 up to the production start-
up of the pilot project at the
Marlim field in August 1992,
Petro bras has installed 26
floating producing systems and
14 fixed platforms in the Campos
Basin. There are 12 floating
production systems currently in
operation.
Making the giant deep-water
oil discoveries technically and
economically feasible is a major
Marlim-9 well X-mas tree
being installed at 781 m water depth.
CAMPOS
BASIN
VERMElHO
CARAPEBA c:J
'\::::;J PARGO
GAROUPINHA
PARATI Q.

CHER EO

CORVIN"O
G
EMA
ENCHOVA
TRllHA
BADEJO rflr.
IJ Vv. MARIMBA
, 0


as well as increasingly cut
operating costs in water between
300 and 1,000 m.
/
I><r::P /
This article describes
several of the most recent
advances achieved by Petro bras
through the coordinated work of
its operational departments
jointly with its R&D center plus
the support of equipment
manufacturers and companies
rendering services for Petrobras.
challenge for Petro bras specialists,
as the company advances
out into ever deeper waters.
According to the October 1992
edition of Offshore magazine,
two-thirds of the wells scheduled
for drilling throughout the world
that year in water over 1,000 feet
deep were Petro bras operations.
The volume of activities
is not the only factor inv9lved.
The coordinated efforts by
Petrobras' operational and
research teams in their quest for
new technologies to move oil
exploration and production
frontiers out into ever deeper
water is also of considerable
importance. In 1992, Petrobras
was the recipient of the Offshore
Technology Conference's
Distinguished Achievement
Award for Companies,
Organizations and Institutions
for its outstanding
accomplishments in the
development of deep-water
production systems and for
establishing programs directed
towards enhancing deep-
water systems.
In addition to investing
to develop oil fields located in
deep water, at least 1 % of the
company's gross revenues
is invested in studies undertaken
by Petrobras' R&D center.
The center coordinates a program
for technological innovation and
advanced development in deep
and ultra-deep water known as
Procap 2000. By means of 11
carefully chosen projects, Procap
is intended to establish the means
for oil production to reach the
bathymetric level of 2,000 m
The technologies include the
phase of drilling wells using a
single drilling-completion base,
advances in subsea completions,
interconnecting flowlines and
manifolds with WCT's, laying
and connecting flexible risers
with export lines, and even
aspects involving maintenance
and deparaffination of lines using
new cleaning methods.
ITEM SYSTEMIC PROJECT
Stability in horizontal and highly deviated wells
2 Drilling highly deviated wells in poorly consolidated sandstones and unstable
shales
3 Kick and blowout control in deep - water wells
4 Subsea submergible centrifugal pumping
5 Subsea separation system
6 Subsea mu Ithipase pumping
7 Flow assurance in deep - water cond itions
8 Reduction of rig downtime due to BOP (Blow Out Preventer) handling
9 Stationary Production Unit with dry completion
10 Stationary Production Unit with subsea completion
11 Aquis i tion and trea tment of geological, geophysical, geotechnical and
environmental data
11
Petrobras displayed these
state-of-the-art technologies
and products at the 1993 OTC.
Floating production
systems and subsea
completions
After testing a number of system
configurations for developing the
marginal oil fields initially
discovered at the Campos Basin,
Petro bras adopted a model to
complete wells on an individual
basis with wet Christmas trees
(WCT's). The wells produce as
BUP
Petrobras xx
12
a group to subsea manifolds
and from there to stationary
production units (SPU's), where
output is processed and
exported to shore.
These systems were at first
called Early Production Systems.
The basic idea was to speed
up cash flow from newly
discovered fields and make them
economically feasible by the
usage of equipment (WCT's,
SPU's, flexible lines and others)
that could be redeployed when
the fields were finally depleted.
This type of system subsequently
also proved suitable for
developing major discoveries.
They were renamed Floating
Production Systems (FPS's).
The most typical FPS
configuration is:
1. Wells are completed with
WCT's and grouped into
subsea manifolds by means
of flexible lines;
2. Subsea manifolds are
connected to SPU's by
flexible lines and risers;
3. Oil is exported by pipelines
and/or monobuoys;
4. Gas is exported by pipelines.
As work moves out into
deeper water, the difficulties in
installing subsea equipment
increase or even make certain
operations unfeasible.
In the well-drilling phase,
the experience acquired from the
114 wells drilled in water depths
between 500 m and 1,565 m
made it possible for Petrobras to
develop a single guidebase
(BUP), eliminating the need to
use two bases - one temporary
and one permanent. The overall
cost of the drilling-completion
interface became less expensive
as a result. Use of BUP's also
solved technical problems
associated with lining up
temporary and permanent bases.
The BUP is installed on a
vertically jetted conductor
pipe, ensuring a reliable
seabed foundation.
Wet Christmas trees
From the experience obtained
installing more than 170 WCT's
at varying depths, Petrobras
defines three standard types:
1. DA (Diver Assisted) for
water depths up to 300 m;
2. DLL (Diverless Lay-a-
way) for water depths
between 300 and 500 m;
3. GLL (Guidelineless Lay-a-
way) for water depths up to
1,800 m.
With the technology and
equipment Petrobras has at its
disposal, the company is able to
complete subsea wells in water
depths up to 1,000 m and is
making good progress towards
completing wells in waters up to
1,800 m. The world's deepest
subsea completion was made by
Petro bras in August 1992 at the
Marlim field with the Marlirn-9
well completed in a water
depth of 781 m using a GLL-
type WCT.
Although the lay-a-way
method made it possible to set
deep-water records in terms of
installing WCT's, it still requires
simultaneous operations of a
floating completion rig where
the flowline is connected to the
WCT, and a cable-laying vessel
which runs the flowline to
the sea bottom with the WCT
attached to it.
Interconnecting well
flowlines with WCT's or
manifolds was greatly improved
using a new technology called
vertical connection. The vertical
connection system can be
described as a two-phase
operation. In the first phase,
flexible lines with their terminal
ends hooked up to a vertical
connection module (VCM) are
laid on the sea floor and tied in a
temporary abandonment base
(TAB) located near the
equipment to which they will be
connected (tree or manifold). The
second phase consists of running
down a tool to retrieve the VCM
from the TAB and then move it
over the equipment to which
it will be connected. Finally, it is
lowered onto the receptacle and
locked into place.
A newly completed well in the
Marlim field was hooked up to a
production platform using
vertical connection technology
for the first time on December
21, 1992. Located in a water
depth of 591 m, the Marlim-20
well is on stream producing at a
limited flowrate of 3,100 bopd.
Successfully accomplishing
installation of the Marlim-20's
bundle of lines demonstrated
one of the most important
characteristics of vertical
connection technology:
simplicity. Only standard
equipment and standard
procedures were used
in the operation.
Vertical connection
The biggest innovations in
terms of monitoring wells with
WCT's or manifolds have been
in fine-tuning multiplexed
electrohydraulic control systems
(MUXCOM). This was
accomplished using data
obtained from the prototype for
this equipment installed at the
Bonito-II well in November
1990. The equipment has been
in uninterrupted operation
ever since.
The latest model is named
SESCO. It can be installed on
manifolds or template-manifolds,
making it possible to monitor
several wells at a time instead
of relying on individual well
control as was the case with its
predecessor, MUXCOM.
In this way, a system begins
operating as a network instead
of communicating from point to
point (WCT-SPU).
Other advantages of SESCO
over MUXCOM concern
integration of power and signals,
plus control at the surface (SPU).
The new system can be
interconnected and monitored by
the SPU's own supervisory
system, doing away with the
need for a stand-alone computer.
Deparaffination
The low temperatures at
the sea bottom where flowlines
and export lines are installed
provoke increasing paraffin
deposits in these lines.
The difficulty in employing
traditional methods of
mechanically cleaning lines
using pigs is directly proportional
to water depth. The deeper the
water, the harder the job.
The pig crossover and pig loop
are innovations Petrobras has
been introducing to solve the
flowline deparaffination
problem.
A pig crossover is a device
installed in the flowline hub of
satellite wells. The scraper is put
into action via a line running
from the launching vessel, which
is connected to the pig crossover
with the aid of divers or diverless
equipment when depths extend
beyond the limits for saturated
diving. The scraper and paraffin
deposits are removed and
recovered in the SPU.
The pig loop method is
suited for fields whose wells
13
produce into subsea manifolds.
A pig loop device is installed
between the flowline and the test
line at a point between the
subsea manifold and the SPU.
This makes it possible to lift
them up to the surface.
The scraper is then activated and
recovered in the SPU, thereby
eliminating the need for a
launching vessel. Obviously, the
pig loop device can also be
employed for satellite wells.
Petrobras tested the two
methods at the Albacora field.
A pig crossover was installed in
the AB-13H well located at a
water depth of 95 m, while a pig
loop was installed between the
MSP-AB-OI manifold and its
SPU at a 250-m water depth.
The so-called nitrogen-
generating system (SGN) is an
alternative process to the pig
loop-pig crossover for the
purpose of clearing clogged
lines. The system is based on an
exothermic nitrogen-generating
system that works in removing
paraffin deposits from pipe walls,
leaving them permanently fluid.
Mechanical clearing of
lines by pig loop-pig crossover
techniques is replaced by the
chemical cleaning provided
by SGN. In addition, SGN offers
the advantage of making it
possible to remove the paraffin
between WCT's and a subsea
manifold in fields with this type
of underwater layout.
Successfully employed by
Petro bras in the Campos Basin
since 1986, the SGN technique
has yielded outstanding results.
Paraffin-removal rates over 80%
mean that fields can effectively
be brought back up to their
original production levels.
14
Risers and couplings
The so-called rigid-flexible
hybrid coupling was another
major achievement in terms
of connecting deep-water
pipelines to risers.
The method consists of
recovering a prelaid steel export
pipeline coupled to a 16-m
flexible line jumper using a
hybrid connector. The flexible
portion of the prelaid line
provides a "]" configuration
which is connected to the final
segment of the flexible riser.
The combination rigid-flexible
hybrid technique was engineered
and successfully tested in less
than eight months during 1992
with the installation of an eight-
inch gas export pipeline in the
Marlim field. At a depth of
625 m, this was the deepest gas
export pipeline ever installed.
Three other export pipelines
were installed in 1992 using this
technique and six others
are planned for installation
in 1994-'95.
Connecting the upper end of
risers to moon pools or top decks
of stationary production units
likewise received detailed study
by Petrobras.
The first FPS's employed quick
connect-disconnect couplings
(QCDC's) installed on risers just
below the surface of the sea.
Their purpose was to interrupt
output from the wells if a riser
happened to come loose from the
platform due to bad weather or
anchor failure.
After several years of
following up and re-evaluating
floating production system
operations in the Campos Basin,
it was shown that the QCDC's
were never put into action.
QCDC's were replaced by
hangers with no loss of
operational safety. Indeed,
they are even advantageous.
Hangers became lighter and less
expensive, and led to a
substantial reduction in pull in-
pull out loads. They are also
easier to assemble and install.
Hangers are designed for 100-
years storm.
Hangers for flexible risers
consist of a clamp-supported
base connected to a flexible
riser's end-fitting. The base is set
to the platform moon pool or top
deck using a clamped flange
which is assembled to the base
aboard the pipe-laying vessel.
Hybrid Flexible/rigid connector
~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Grid tensioning system
Integrated
development
The discovery of three giant
petroleum fields in the Campos
Basin in recent years means
that Petrobras has had to focus
increasing attention on their
future development in an
integrated and efficient way.
The Marlim field holds estimated
reserves of 1.7 billion bbl and
covers an area of 156 km
2
in
water depths ranging from 400 m
to 2,000 m. Albacora's estimated
reserves are 1 billion barrels
located in waters ranging. from
200-m to 2,000-m deep covering
a 236-km
2
area. Reserves in the
Barracuda field are estimated at
660 million bbl and are located in
water ranging in depth from 700 m
to 1,000 m in a 170-km2 area.
A couple of a hundred
wells will be required to fully
develop these giant fields .
This means the traditional
method of subsea completions
with WCT's employed by
Petrobras will increasingly
become an encumbrance both in
terms of installation as well
as maintenance.
Hangers f or flexible risers
On the other hand, completion
of wells with dry Christmas trees
on production platforms requires
compensation and minimization
of motion effect. Petro bras has
developed a new concept to meet
these requirements. Referred to
as GTS or grid tensioning system
(patent pending), this concept is
suited for semisubmersible-type
platforms, tension leg platforms
(TLP's), or any other kind of
production system where motion
compensation-riser tensioning is
an essential factor.
Originally developed for
semi submersible platforms,
the concept is based on the
simultaneous tensioning of a
group of steel risers bundled into
a grid-like structure.
Centralized within the
platform moon pool to which
it's connected via a series of
compensated tensioners around
its perimeter, the grid is allowed
to move vertically along a 7.6-m
axis and shift in any axis on the
horizontal plane.
The tensioners are fixed to
the platform and coupled to the
grid by sprockets and chains.
A velocity-limiting circuit
prevents equipment damage in
case of chain or chain-connector
failure, and a hydro-pneumatic
control panel permits tension
adjustments and monitoring of
individual tensioners. The system
is designed for a 100-years storm.
A tension-trimming rig used
together with a portable jacking
tool makes it possible to adjust
tension on any individual riser
during operations, with no need
to remove the production tree or
resort to a derrick.
Seeking simplicity in its methods
with no loss of operational or
environmental safety, and also
trying to utilize conventional
equipment available on the market,
Petrobras has been making an
important contribution toward
standardization of subsea
equipment. This has made ease
of operations possible, especially
at the system-equipment interface.
It seems obvious that both
simplicity of operations
as well as the potential for
interchangeability of equipment
from different manufacturers will
lead to less expensive projects
and may even result in the
development of reserves
currently beyond the restrictions
of economic feasibility. C
15
visit to the potential hydrocarbon
site was guided to the cave
paintings by local residents. As
more Petrobras teams were sent
in to study what eventually
proved to be a fine carbonate
reservoir, they took worried note
of the rapid advance of a
limestone mining front that was
destroying the geological record
and likewise jeopardizing the
region's archeological and
paleontological wonders.
In February 1991, Petrobras
geologists invited local
environmentalists to join them on
a crusade to save Soledade Rock.
Since the prime source of income
for many inhabitants of nearby
Vila de Soledade is the hand-
mining of lime, the team of
specialists knew that any direct
attempt to halt this commercial
activity would prove futile.
Their strategy was therefore to
awaken the local population to
the scenic and cultural value
of Soledade Rock - and
consequently to the site's
unexploited economic potential
as an ecotourist attraction.
No one knew just how the
locals would react to a proposal
that in one way or another would
interfere in their daily lives. As it
turned out, the ideas presented by
the team of specialists were so
well received that on the day
immediately after the first
meeting, community members
helped designate areas to be set
aside for protection, based on
archeological, paleontological, or
geological value. As this work
proceeded, many more
paintings were found in three
areas, covering some twenty-five
acres in all.
With the firm assistance of the
local population, this group of
Petrobras employees and other
individuals dedicated to
protecting the region's cultural
heritage took upon themselves
Petrobras is funding the Lajedo Project to
make it a touristic attraction.
a number of vital tasks:
demarkation and preliminary
mapping of the three selected
protection areas; clean-up and
marking of a tourist trail; training
of twenty-three youngsters, ten
of whom were selected as junior
guides; clean-up and collection
of refuse by the junior guides;
creation of a small museum
and library stocked with
archeological and
paleontological books and
pieces; and, lastly,
the decisive step - creation
of the Friends of Soledade
Rock Association, later made a
foundation. The purpose of this
organization, which basically
brings together people from
Soledade and nearby Apodi,
is to transfer responsibility for
protection of the rock to
the local population.
The members of the
team that had kicked off the
whole process formed the
Scientific Council.
During subsequent months,
the council worked to draft a
management plan for the
protected areas and to instil
in the local population a
preservationist culture, through
courses and lectures sponsored
by the foundation.
Completed in September
1991, the Scientific Council's
management plan calls for:
erection of fencing around
each of the three areas to be
protected;
clean-up and landscape
restoration in degraded spots;
construction of a tourist center,
with a museum annex,
souvenir shop, foundation
offices, and research
facilities.
construction of one tourist
stand in each of the three
protected areas, out of which
the junior guides will
operate;
sponsorship of research in
archeology, paleontology,
geology, and other sciences
so as to uncover more
information on Soledade
Rock's history and its past
and present ecosystems.
Another concern was to teach
local residents alternative means
of livelihood by introducing
them to options that would help
slow the pace of mining
activities. Specialists were
invited to speak on reforestation,
coal production, apiculture, and
the rational exploitation of
limestone via modern techniques
and diversification of extracted
products. The community
learned, for example, that they
could concentrate on finer
products such as crushed rock
and flagstones for decorative
purposes - options that, in
addition to yielding greater
financial return, would help
preserve Soledade Rock as they
entail exploitation of smaller
areas. In contrast, continued
rudimentary mining for the
manufacture of lime might soon
ravage the entire surface of
Soledade Rock, leaving a sadly
marred landscape.
Petrobras joins in
In 1991, Petrobras provided
only limited support for this
project. It surveyed the area,
donated uniforms for the
junior guides, and put up an
identification marker at the rock,
stating the rules of conduct
visitors are expected to follow.
In 1992, Petrobras began
funding the Soledade Rock
preservation and research
18
project. First came demarkation
of the three protected areas and
erection of over 8000 ft of
fencing.
Visible results
In the spirit of community
participation and of collaboration
displayed by those striving to
preserve Brazil's scenic and
cultural heritage, the Brazilian
architect Adler Fontenelle
graciously designed the Museum
and Visitors' Center, with
2
over 1000 ft of floor space.
He actually took his inspiration
for its style from the region's
lime kilns. Located in the main
"From the caves, nothing shall be taken but
photographs, nothing shall be left but
footsteps, nothing shall be killed but time,
nothing shall be carried away but memories ",
square of Vila de Soledade on a
plot of land donated by the
community, the building holds
an exhibit hall, foundation
offices, and visitor facilities. Its
rounded shape, with four lateral
ramps, transmits the idea that
preservation of Soledade Rock
can co-exist harmoniously
with rational economic
exploitation of the site.
Under an agreement with
the Universidade Federal do Rio
Grande do Norte, the Friends of
Soledade Rock Foundation
sponsors research in speleology,
archeology, and paleontology.
Efforts in the first field have
already paid off, with the
discovery of a 1600-ft cave and
the mapping of three ravines.
Archeological research has
included detailed surveying of
the rock; transfer copying of
4850 fe of cave paintings with
polyurethane film; excavation of
a total of 600 ft2, using the most
modem techniques available
in Brazil; and visits to several
archeological sites located
within a 45-mile radius
of Soledade Rock.
Preliminary findings
based on excavated material,
analysis of petroglyphs, and
regional research suggest that a
gathering/farming group once
inhabited the vicinity of the rock,
treating this geological feature as
a ceremonial center or spiritual
sanctuary. Considering that
agriculture was introduced to
Northeast Brazil some five
thousand years ago, it is believed
that findings at the site are no
older than that.
Further research should
shed more light on some aspects
of life back then and provide
new data to help determine
pre-historic migration routes
through the area.
Paleontological research
has unearthed ample fossil
material, representative
of many animals of the
Ice Age's macrofauna, including
sloths, giant armadillos,
mastodons, wildcats, dogs,
horses, and reptiles.
Broadening the
foundation's scope
It is hoped that the Soledade
Rock preservation and research
project will serve as an example,
and indeed as a kind of school,
motivating others to inaugurate
similar ventures.
The ancient cave paintings resemble
geometric and abstract elements
Brazil, and especially the
Northeast, boasts dozens of
unique locations that merit the
special attention of the
geological, paleontological,
archeological, and biological
sciences - or that are simply of
rare.scenic value.
Moving beyond the scope
of its original plan of action,
the foundation has begun
encouraging governmental
and private agencies to
identify and protect similar sites
and to develop these into
tourist attractions.
Part of a long-term agenda,
this idea should create jobs in
poorer regions of the country.
After all, the world already
has a good many examples
of sustained development
through ecotourism, such as
Costa Rica and Namibia.
The participation of
Petro bras at Soledade Rock
has been fundamental to project
success. Thanks to the company's
decision to collaborate in a
socioeconomic project
benefitting a needy area, both
Petro bras and Brazilian society
have struckitrich. C
This article was written with the
collaboration o/the Lajedo Project team
members Eduardo Bagnoli and Geraldo
Gusso (Petrobras geologists), David
Hasset (environmentalist), Francisco
William Jr. (speleologist) and Maria
Auxiliadora da Silva Maia (lawyer).
Petrobras' presence on .
the international market
-,1; -
: t ~ \ : ~ ~
Working as a sole operator or in association with other
international oil companies, the affiliated company Petrobras Internacional
produces and markets oil, gas and gasoline besides rendering
technical assistance seNices in a number of countries
P
etrobras has the exclusive responsibility of carrying out oil
exploration and production activities in a country with around 8.5
million km
2
of surface and about 5.2 million km
2
of sedimentary
basins, including those located offshore, ranging from Paleozoic to
recent geologic ages. This means Petro bras has to operate in a wide
range of geographic environments, which can include rain forest in
the Amazon as well as desert areas in northeast Brazil.
Likewise in offshore operations, Petro bras has developed
and improved existing technologies to the particular conditions of
Brazil's seacoast where the most important oil fields are located
beyond the shelf. This has led to an overall improvement in offshore
oil technology, especially in deep waters.
These challenges, set by past and present natural conditions,
have provided Petrobras with a standard of efficiency able to
overcome the most complex geologic and geographic obstacles.
Despite its proven capacity as an operator, Petrobras had
never operated outside Brazil until 1972. In order to strengthen and
consolidate its responsibility for oil supply in Brazil, it created an
affiliated company, Petro bras Internacional- Braspetro.
Braspetro is almost a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrobras.
Its purpose is to perfonn outside Brazil activities related to the oil
industry, both upstream and downstream.
Operating side-by-side with the world's largest oil companies in
its 20 years of existence, Braspetro has also contributed to enlarge the
presence of Brazil and Petrobras abroad. Beginning in 1975,
Braspetro got the Petrobras organization started in international trade.
It laid the foundations to assure the sales of Brazilian commodities to
a number of countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
In addition, Braspetro opened foreign markets for Brazilian
engineering services and capital goods.
Braspetro basically focuses its efforts on three fields of activity:
exploration & production;services rendering & technical assistance;
and marketing of petroleum and other products.
Operating alone or in association with other oil companies, Braspetro
has marked its presence in 24 countries on five continents. In the
Americas: the United States, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago,
Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia. In Europe:
the United Kingdom, and Norway. In Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana,
Libya, Madagascar, Congo, Angola, and Mozambique. In Asia: Iraq,
Southern Y (!men, Iran, China, and India. In Oceania: the Philippines
Braspetro and its affiliated companies currently have offices in
England, Norway, the United States, Angola, Argentina, Ecuador,
Colombia, and Libya.
21
Exploration and
production
Braspetro initiated its
activities back in 1972 carrying
out almost exclusively
hydrocarbon exploration
projects. Its history can be
summed up in three phases.
During the first phase, running
from its creation up to the end of
the '70s, Braspetro typically
performed as a sole operator.
In few ventures Braspetro also
participated as a non-operator
company, for which it held a
partial working interest.
It focused its activities in North
Africa, the Middle East,
and Colombia.
Special mention should be made
to Braspetro's performance in
Iraq during this phase. Working
as sole operator, it discovered the
giant Majnoon (1976) and Nahr-
Umr (1978) fields with total
reserves amounting to around 10
billion barrels of recoverable oil.
These two fields were among the
largest discoveries in the world
during the last two decades.
Increasing tensions in the
region gave rise to negotiations
between Braspetro and Inoc, the
Iraqi national oil company,
which acquired all of Braspetro's
interests in the two fields. Inoc
thereupon assigned Braspetro the
job of developing the fields.
During this same phase,
Braspetro also discovered the
Ras-Toumb oil field in Algeria.
Although this field wasn't of the
same magnitude as the Iraqi
discoveries, it had considerable
importance from the geologic
point of view. It demonstrated
for the first time the existence of
oil reserves in deposits different
from those usually explored in
that country. Braspetro took part
in production at the Ras-Toumb
22
WORLDWIDE ACTIVITIES
Exploration and/or production Commercialization
Services and/or technical assistance . Head uarters
field from 1976 to 1988 when the
production contract expired.
In this first phase of its
existence, Braspetro also played
a role in discoveries at the Upper
Magdalena in Colombia.
Because of market conditions
at that time, the company's share
in these discoveries was sold off
to third parties.
The company also operated
in Egypt and Libya.
In those countries it discovered
noncommercial oil and
gas deposits.
As a result of its achievements
during this first phase, Braspetro
began to expand its activities at
the start of the '80s. During the
second phase of its growth, it
sought closer approximation with
the major oil companies as well
as a more concentrated focus on
areas outside the zone of conflict
in the Middle East.
Work in Angola was of
considerable importance during
this second phase. An oil
discovery was made at Block 2
in offshore Angolan waters
during 1980. In association with
other international oil companies,
Braspetro holds a 27.5% working
interest in this venture.
Gulf of Mexico gas f acilities.
The third stage of Braspetro's
history began toward the end of
the '80s. The company
increasingly made every effort to
associate with markets requiring
leading-edge technologies.
Through its affiliated companies
Petrobras Norge AS, Brasoil UK
Ltd, and Petrobras America Inc.,
Braspetro began exploratory
work on the Norwegian and
British sides of the North Sea as
well as in the outer continental
shelf of the US Gulf of Mexico.
Investments were also
focused on such Latin American
oil producing countries as
Colombia, Ecuador, and
Argentina. It acquired rights to
oil and gas reserves in Great
Britain, the United States,
and Argentina.
In 1989, the company signed
exploration and production
contracts for two onshore blocks
in Libya in association with two
other international companies,
where two oil discoveries,
presently under appraisal,
were made.
At the present time, Braspetro is
working in eight countries
in association with major
international companies, and is
the operator in several of these
ventures. It holds oil and/or gas
production rights in Angola,
the United Kingdom, and the
United States. The company is
developing a Colombian oil field
discovery and preparing projects
for gas acquired from Argentina.
It is also evaluating discoveries
made in Norway, the United
Kingdom, Libya and Ecuador.
This year, Braspetro expects
to be producing in all countries
where it operates with the
exception of Norway where
production start-up is scheduled
for 1995, and in Libya where
its recent discoveries are still
under evaluation.
SeNices and technical
assistance
Early in 1980 Braspetro
began rendering services for the
petroleum industry when it
discovered the Majnoon and
Nahr-Urnr fields, working under
contract to the Iraqi national oil
company, Inoc, for the
development of these fields as
well as for execution of basic
engineering projects.
Between 1980 and 1984, it
signed contracts with countries in
Latin America, Africa and the
Far East to carry out jobs in the
fields of engineering,
exploration, production, and
training of human resources.
Braspetro Oil Services Co. -
Brasoil- was established in
1977 to provide Braspetro with
greater operational flexibility.
Brasoil began to take charge of
drilling contracts with Libya
undertaken in 1984. Brasoil
carries out these contracts using
an onshore rig it maintains in
North Africa. In offshore Angola,
Brasoil has a semisubmersible
and two jack-up drilling rigs
in operation.
Besides drilling activities,
Braspetro renders services in
technical assistance, project
management, and human
resources training in several
countries. It also performs the
following engineering services:
installation of pipelines and
building terminals, construction
and installation of offshore
platforms, and construction of
industrial processing plants.
The company has been
rendering services in these fields
of specialization not only for
developing countries but also for
companies from the United
States and Europe. Braspetro
works jointly with other
Brazilian engineering and
construction companies from the
sector on several of these
contracts.
An intensive training
program for more than 100
Angolan engineers in the fields
of geology, geophysics, and
petroleum engineering is worthy
of special mention. Braspetro
began carrying out this program
in 1987 at universities in
Angola and Brazil.
Braspetro's other activities
in Angola should also be cited.
It performed the engineering
design and construction of the
Palanca , Impala and Pacassa
offshore production platforms.
These platforms were fabricated
in Brazil in association with
Brazilian engineering firms.
To date, Braspetro's affiliated
company, Brasoil, has carried out
contracts on four oil production
platforms and two pipelines for
the Angolan coast adding up to
revenues over $50 million.
Marketing of oil and oil
products
Being an integrated oil
company, Braspetro operates in
the marketing of oil and gas from
its own reserves or those
acquired from third parties by
means of its affiliated company,
Petrobras America Inc., in the
United States. It likewise performs
in the export of oil products.
Petrobras' and Braspetro's
activities complement one
another. This makes it possible
for the Petrobras group to be
vitally active and able to
undertake projects not only
throughout Brazil, but also in
the most varied and remote
regions of the world. 0
Palanca production platform, fabricated ill Brazil alld installed ill Allgoia
23
ALEIJADINHO
One of the geniuses of Brazilian baroque,
Antonio Francisco Lisboa, nicknamed
Aleijadinho (Little Cripple) because of
his physical deformities, left mankind
an impressive legacy both in terms
of quantity and variety as well as
the creative talent in
his works of art
H
e was of mixed blood in an era of prejudice
- the eighteenth century. Born in 1730 to
a slave mother and a portuguese father, he became a
freedman at his baptism. He resided in Brazil
before it had yet become an independent nation.
A sculptor by profession, around his fortieth year he
lost his fingers to a degenerative disease. A student of
the Bible, at the age of seventy he sculpted life-size
statues of the twelve prophets of the Old Testament.
For nearly half a century after his death in 1814, he was
forgotten. But now he is considered the greatest sculptor
of the Americas.
These references leave no doubt as to the man's identity:
Antonio Francisco Lisboa, nicknamed by his contemporaries
Aleijadinho, or Little Cripple. An artistic genius, he was
responsible for some of the most famous landscapes in Brazil,
such as the church plaza in Congonhas do Campo,
state of Minas Gerais, site of his most famous
work - the twelve prophets.
Known as Vila Rica at the time of Aleijadinho's
birth, the city of Ouro Preto has been designated a
world heritage site by UNESCO. Containing the
largest assemblage of Baroque architecture in the
world, this town displays the grandiosity of the
style that immortalized Aleijadinho.
The artist did not limit himself to his home
town, but left his mark in other Minas
cities as well: Mariana, Congonhas
do Campo, Sabara, Sao loao del
Rei, Catas Altas, Barao de
Cocais, Caete, Morro Grande,
Nova Lima, Tiradentes, and
Santa Rita Durao.
Aleijadinho's biography would
delight the philosopher Kant,
asan example of human
grandeur. His art was so
extraordinary that at the
beginning of the twentieth
century some even doubted the
artist's existence, so abundant
were the sculptures and
architectural works attributed to
him. As if the prodigiousness of
his legacy were not enough, to
this day the very story of his life
enthralls poets, writers, and
journalists, who revere his work,
engross themselves in
biographical documents, or let
their imaginations sweep them
back to the days of A1eijadinho.
Nothing more fitting than one
creator of images suggesting
others - about himself - to those
fascinated by his work. In fact,
Aleijadinho's first biography, a
mixture of truth and legend, was
published in 1858 by Prof.
Rodrigo Jose Ferreira Bretas.
In this century, the poet Carlos
Drummond de Andrade wrote of
him: "Once upon a time there
was a Little Cripple, who had no
finger, who had no hand; fury
and chisel, these he had indeed."
Inspired by the defiance of an
artist who worked with passion,
oblivious to his own fortune and
to the conventions of his time, so
very many have written about
Aleijadinho that citing all would
likely shift the focus of this
article. What to live for? What to
sculpt for? Antonio Francisco
Lisboa knew the answers.
Minas Gerais:
in a cultural fever
"Defiant" is an adjective befitting
the period in which Aleijadinho
lived. As a Portuguese colony,
eighteenth-century Brazil had not
yet claimed its nationhood. In
Morte da Mem6ria Nacional,
Franklin de Oliveira reminds us
that the colonial inhabitants were
Aleijadinho also ieft his mark in Congonhas do Campo.
Faithfull or fallacious images demonstrate the
expressionism nature of Aleijadinho's work.
known as mazombos and not
as Brazilians, a term only later
to be coined by one of Minas'
inconfidentes (the rebels who
met clandestinely in Vila Rica to
plot the independence of Minas
Gerais). Libertas quae sera
tamem - liberty albeit late
- was the rallying cry of the
Inconfidencia of Minas Gerais, a
crucial event in Brazilian history.
It was the time of the so-called
Gold Era, supplanting the era of
sugar plantations. Society in
villages and ranches gave way to
urbanization. No longer was the
world divided only into masters
and slaves. The development of
commerce, of crafts, and of a
service sector gave birth to new
social classes. Craftsmen, artists,
brotherhoods, and guilds
spawned an urban culture.
Brazilians from all comers
of the country as well as
Portuguese nationals and other
Europeans were drawn to this
inland region by the flurry of
mining activity. Although Brazil
was economically ready for
independence, it owed obedience
to Portugal, and its gold deposits
were exploited to depletion the
better to serve the interests of an
agrarian metropolis dependent
upon an industrializing England.
A feeling of nationhood slowly
emerged. Extracted from these
"general mines" - or minas
gerais, site of the state now
bearing that name - the ore was
shipped to Portugal and from
there on to England. The German
sociologist and economist
Werner Sombart has said that
without Minas gold, the first
Industrial Revolution would
never have taken place.
The period's architecture
reflects its economic situation.
Stone, lime, and masonry
replaced wood and lath-and-
plaster as the raw materials of
25
construction. And cultural
production mirrored society's
latent conflicts. In service to the
Church and to the aesthetic
standards of ruling groups,
Brazilian art mimicked
Portuguese art, in tum an
imitation of the French.
But some artists forge a
greater bond between their work
and the world around them.
This "subversion" differentiates
Brazilian Baroque from the
European. Aleijadinho is the
greatest representative of this
school, visible in amazing works
that overflow with the tensions
of the era and, perhaps, of the
artist's own inner self.
Mind over matter
Hansen's disease, tertiary
syphilis, crippling rheumatism,
gangrenous ulcerations of the
hands and feet - no one knows
for sure what illness lay behind
the nickname bestowed on
Aleijadinho. Until the age of
forty, he was a bohemian and a
libertine, or so legend has it.
His Portuguese father,
Manuel Francisco Lisboa, was a
carpenter, architect, and sculptor.
He came to Brazil attracted by
the prospect of gold and easy
riches, a dream then associated
with the tropics. Married, he
fathered four legitimate children,
plus one bastard by a black slave.
To this illegitimate son he passed
on his name and his professional
knowledge. Although racial
miscegenation was growing
common around that time, it still
sparked prejudice and thus
hindered due recognition of
Aleijadinho's talent as a
remarkable mulatto sculptor and
designer. For this reason
Aleijadinho was prevented from
signing not only many of his
works but also the receipts for
pieces ordered by white guilds
and brotherhoods, which at that
time were segregated by color.
But the artist's talent spoke
louder, and his fame spread to
other cities. It was then that
Aleijadinho became ill and had
to watch as his own body
gradually disintegrated. Far from
ceding to conformism or inertia,
he resisted, struggling on
with his work.
It is from this phase of
Aleijadinho's life that the
greatest number of folkloric
images have sprung, both somber
and heroic: in a mighty show of
will , off he trudges to work in the
wee hours of the morning,
cloaking his deformities in a
black cape, the figure of the artist
reminiscent of some macabre
creature. When he is not carried
by a slave, he crawls along on
leather knees.
A hat serves to camouflage his
disfigured face. So that he can
sculpt - always in hiding and
aided by two faithful slaves
- the hammer and chisel are
tied to his hands. He earns
money for his labors but spends
on himself only as much as he
needs to survive, sharing the
rest with the poor.
Wrought by Aleijadinho's
hands - which perhaps could no
longer be recognized as such -
were the figures that critics have
classified as expressionist.
They reflect the anxieties of his
time and those that life forced
upon him alone.
Faithful or fallacious images,
one thing is certain: the
expressiveness of Aleijadinho's
work ignores time and
demonstrates the vitality of a
spirit that conquered an ailing
body. He strove on until losing
his sight in 1812, then retreating
to a wooden cot. Two years
later, at the age of 84, he passed
away, completely forgotten.
He was buried in a common plot
belonging to the Boa Morte
Guild in Vila Rica. On his aeath
certificate appears his name,
along with the words "mulatto"
and "single."
Ouro Preto is the home town of AZeijadinho.
Defiant creator
Sculpted between 1800 and 1805
and completed when Aleijadinho
was 72, the twelve prophets that
line the Senhor Born Jesus de
Matozinhos Church plaza in
Congonhas do Campo inspire
awe in those who visit them.
Through differing stances,
movements, gestures, and
positions, the twelve display
great plastic and visual harmony.
Isaiah and Jeremiah at the
entrance, facing arrivers; Baruch
and Ezekiel, leaning towards
each other; Daniel and Hosea, in
profile, above the terrace; Jonah
and Joel, farther back, turning
away; Obadiah and Habakkuk, at
the comers of the patio; Nahum
and Amos, at the two far sides,
the latter's expression one of
touching sadness.
Sculpted in steatite, or
soapstone, the bodies are
short and stocky, the angle of
each head varying according
to the prophet's message.
Their disfigurements manifest
the author's expressionism.
Representative of what is
now recognized as the apex of
Aleijadinho's work, the prophets
rival another masterpiece of his
in popUlarity: the Way of the
Cross, sixty-six life-size figures
found in the sanctuary of Senhor
Born Jesus de Matozinhos.
Sculpted in cedar between 1796
and 1799, these statues were
painted by Manuel da Costa
Ataide and Francisco Manuel
Carneiro. The high point of
Aleijadinho's art, the images
show the stations of Christ's
Passion, from the Last Supper
to the Crucifixion.
These sculptures conceal neither
the fierceness of the Roman
executioners, nor that of their
creator, who has distorted the
images into near caricatures.
By disfiguring them, was
Aleijadinho satirizing the
arrogant colonizers, using the
only tool he had at hand?
Strength in
sculpture I delicacy in
architecture
Aleijadinho's earlier work
- mainly sculpture and wood-
carving - can be found in various
cities of Minas Gerais. In Ouro
Preto, his home town, stands yet
another masterpiece: the chapel
of the Ordem Terceira de Sao
Francisco de Assis, built between
1776 and 1794. Aleijadinho drew
up the blueprint and designed the
engravings and sculpture of the
f a ~ a d e He also made the two
pulpits, adorned with sculpted
figures of saints, plus the
baptismal font and the main
altar's Holy Trinity and angels.
The artist's sculptures decorate
the ceiling of the main chapel as
well. The portal bears his image
of Saint Francis of Assisi.
If strength is what dominates
the statuary of Aleijadinho's
mature years, his architecture
displays a delicacy and an
aesthetic concern never before
seen in structures. He would
draw up the blueprint for a
building and then oversee its
construction. Equally interested
in the finishings, he decorated
f a ~ a d e s and doors and
fashioned pulpits and images.
Critics disagree about the
authorship of the architectural
works attributed to Aleijadinho.
Regarding the church of
S. Francisco at Ouro Preto, for
example, built in 1776, some
argue that he lacked any prior
experience which could have
subsidized the innovations found
there. But most critics believe
that this and other works are fruit
of the artist's own genius.
A stellar attraction of the
towns of Minas Gerais, the many
works of Aleijadinho live on
even while their creator's body
lies forgotten in a common grave.
If the artist, disfigured by
disease, at some point wondered
why he was alive, he himself
answered this question by
persevering in his work almost
through his final hour. The
biography of Antonio Francisco
Lisboa still remains shrouded in
mystery, but his works are an
express acknowledgment of his
undeniable raison d'etre. 0
27
A TARCTIC
Petrobras scientists
find corroboration of the two continents'
separation and will perform detailed analyses of
rock samples collected at Melville Peninsula
T
he Antarctic is 1,000 km
from South America.
Around 90% of its surface is
permanently covered with a layer
of ice 2,000 - m thick.
No animals live on the continent
all year round.
Brazil was one of the signatories
of the Antarctic Treaty and has
been sending expeditions there
since 1982. The country
now has a permanent
station named the
Comandante Ferraz
Base set up on King
George- Island in
Almirantado Bay.
Petrobras specialists have
taken part in seven of the 11
Antarctic expeditions Brazil sent
so far using the oceanographic
ship Bariio de Tefe. The team's
scientists carried out geologic
and geophysical studies.
Brazil's Antarctic expeditions
are part of the Proantar
program coordinated by the
Interministerial Council on
Resources of the Sea with
headquarters at the Brazilian
Navy Ministry.
Continental separation
Since it began taking part
in missions to the Antarctic,
Petrobnis has shot 5,500 km of
seismic lines, one of the largest
amounts by any of the countries
carrying out research in the area.
Petrobras' research is comparable
with that executed by the United
States and the former USSR.
During the summer months of
1991, Petrobras scientists found
evidence of the Antarctic
continent's splitting off from
South America, an event that
apparently occurred around 25
million years ago and which led
to the origin of the Drake
Passage between South America
and the Antarctic. Evidence
encountered up to now indicates
that the
last area to split off from an
ancient giant continent known
as Gondwanaland.
Last February, the Petrobras
team returned to Brazil after
carrying out a field expedition
on Melville Peninsula for a
month during the 11 th year of
Brazil's work in the Antarctic.
The Peninsula is located on the
northeastern section of Kmg
George Island. Petrobnis
scientists intend to determine
more precisely when this
separation occurred, in addition
to obtaining new data about the
overall tectonic processes
which shaped and are still
shaping the continent.
The detailed studies to be
based upon specimens acquired
during these expeditions should
make it possible to reach a
reasonably precise estimate for
the age of Melville Peninsula.
This will enable confirmation of
whether or not that geologic
region corroborates the two
continents' separation.
The team from Petrobras' R&D
center performed a stratigraphic
log of the tertiary sedimentary
section of Melville Peninsula,
collected 167 stratified rock
and siltstone samples for
micropaleontologic analyses
and 30 samples for macrofossil
studies of coral, crustaceans
and shells. Diabase D l P ~
were gathered for
direction and depth of Melville's
formation fissures and fractures.
Fifteen km further north, on the
Northern Promontory to the
extreme NNW of King George
Island, samples were also
collected for petrogenetic and
geochronologic studies.
This research will help toward an
understanding of the migratory
routes of prehistoric fauna from
the Antarctic, Australia, and
South America.
Petrobras
'
presence
The Petro bras team at the
11 th expedition to the Antarctic
included an alpinist who was
responsible for the group's
safety. In addition, he served as
guide during expeditions,
helping to set up equipment, and
assuring the proper use of
specialized clothing. He was
also valuable as a mountain
climber, and in rigging tents
during field excursions.
The Petro bras team set up their
camp on top of an escarpment
lS0-m high, 40 km from Brazil's
Comandante Ferraz Base.
The escarpment was scaled daily
in order to gather samples and
perform measurements.
Temperatures during the
Antarctic summer range between
_7 and + 10 C. This means that
visitors might experience sun,
wind, and snow on the same day.
Weather conditions change
very quickly. Wind chill makes
a-7 C temperature feel as if
it were -20 C.
The Petrobras team received
special training in mountain
climbing, first aid, proper use of
helicopters, and navigation at sea
and on land to be able to work
under such adverse conditions.
Petrobras also contributes to the
Proantar project by furnishing all
the fuel oil for the Bariio de Tefe
The team from Petrobras' R&D
Center collected more than J 00
stratified rock and siltstone
samples for micropaleontologic
analyses .
The Petrobras team set up
their camp on top of an
escarpment J50-m high.
oceanographic ship to undertake
the expedition.
Petrobras specialists
make a major contribution to
the scientific knowedge of the
region acquired in the nation's
expeditions to the Antarctic
because of the geologic and
geophysical studies, among
others, they perform at
various locations.
Petrobras scientists, however,
are part of a large team
composed of researchers from
Brazil's scientific community
who go each year to the
Antarctic during its short
summer to realize scientific
studies in the most varied
specialties, once again getting
together with the personnel who
spend their winters at Brazil's
Comandante Ferraz Base. C
This article was prepared with the
support of Petrobras team at the J Jth
Proantar expedition: Vitor Abreu and
Silvio Barrocas (geologists), Joiio Bosco
de Araujo (geology technician), Bruno
Sellmer (alpinist).
30

, '
, "
On February 17, 1
dent Itamar Franco from
President Jaime Paz
SalelPurchase Agreement
and between Petrobras
cimientos Petroliferos
livianos - YPFB, the oil
from Brazil and Bolivia,
tively, under wich Brazil will
natural gas from Bolivia.
The studies carried out by
bras in 1990 led to the corlcllls!t,n
that the participation of
in the total domestic energy
could increse from the
10% in the year 2000 and
the year 2012.
In addition to the dOlme:sUc"plip
duction, the potential
natural gas in the southern
Brazil, will require an initial 8
lion cubic meters of natural
day import from Bolivia,
increase up to 16 million cubic
ters a day in 7 years, then
in the peak level for another
years.
AMAZONAS
azil-Bolivia Project:
an example of
MATOGROSSO
integration
Florian6poli s
Total investments in the project
are estimated to be US$ 2.0 billion.
The Brazilian legislation requires
that Petrobras, through an affiliate
company, shall have more than
50% interest in the project, which
will also have the participation of
private companies and the financial
support from international financial
institutions.
Initial delivery is expected in the
beginning of 1997, considering a 18
months period to have the funds
available for the project and a 30
months period for the construction
of the trunkline and the transporta-
tion system. :::::
fiji PETROBRA S
620
11111111111111111 1111111111 1111111111 11111111111111111111 11111111
620 - 0105164
Checkered flag
waves for BR fuels
A special blend of gasoline produced
by Petrobras for Brazil's 1,OOO-mile
sports car endurance race received
high praise from the winning team.
The contest was held at Sao Paulo's
Interlagos Raceway in January.
Franz Prangemeir, a German racing
driver from the winning team, said
the special gasoline supplied by
Petrobras contributed greatly to the
success of the Porsche he and his
two fellow drivers used to win the
grueling 372-lap race in 13 hours, 40
minutes and 38.453 seconds, aver-
aging nearly 200 km per hour.
The company supplied two types of
special gasoline produced exclu-
sively for the event. Prepared and
tested by Petrobras, the special
gasoline blends feature high octane
ratings (between 93 and 95 motor
octane number - MON) plus high
calorific values. The MON rating in-
cludes a fuel 's antiknock capacity.
Regular passenger vehicles normally
run on blends between 80 and 82
MON. 0
32
-
New low-sulfur diesel oil for urban use
A new metropolitan diesel oil intro-
duced by Petrobras is being mar-
keted in nine urban regions through-
out the country. The regions are
considered environmentally prob-
lematic.
Brazilian regulations prohibit sulfur
levels above 1.3% by weight. But,
aware of its responsibilities as a
member of the Brazilian community,
Petrobras has undertaken to supply
a metropolitan diesel oil with a maxi-
mum sulfur content of 0.5% by
weight for those regions, and with
1 % in the rest of the country.
The reduction in the level of sulfur
was achieved in hydrotreatment
units with a technology known
worldwide, as well as by using crude
oils with low sulfur contents as feed-
stock, especially domestically-produ-
ced crudes.
New hydrotreatment units are
scheduled to come on stream as of
1997, and P.etrobras intends to sup-
ply metropolitan diesel oil with 0.3%
sulfur content by weight for urban ar-
eas, and with 0.5% for the rest of the
country. 0
record reserves i
CAMPOS
BASIN,
VERMLHO
CARAPEBA t::J

GAROUt'INHA t:l VlOiA
PARATI ,", '"

CHERNE ()
""IALHADQ '\\
CO''''NAO Il(;EMA
fNCHOVA

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)
,<I"
/ /
Petrobras added 593 million net bar-
rels of oil (including condensate) and
455 billion cubic feet of natural gas to
Brazil's proven reserves in 1992.
The company added a record 670 mil-
lion barrels of oil equivalent reserves.
Total Brazilian reserves now amount to
4.5 billion barrels, 20% and 17% more
in terms of oil and gas, respectively,
than the reserves accounted on
December 31 , 1991.
According to Joao Carlos de Luca,
Petrobras' director of E&P, the com-
pany's exploration program is getting
full priority. An improvement in operat-
ing performance and the high rate of
success with exploratory wells were
the main factors helping Petrobras set
,rJi'
J
records in adding new oil and gas re-
serves.
The known huge oil accumulations lo-
cated in water over 1,OOO-m deep
were not included in these figures.
Petrobras produced 240 million bar-
rels of oil and 250 billion cubic feet of
natural gas in 1992, accounting for
53% of domestic consumption.
Oil reserves' life increased from 13
years in 1991 to 16 years in 1992, as-
suming current production rates. Gas
reserves should last around 20 years,
based on present output levels.
The biggest contributors to the in-
crease in reserves came from the
Marlim, Albacora, and Barracuda fields
in the Campos Basin. 0
Petrobras highlights
(as of December 31, 1992)
PETROLEUM RESERVES
Oil + condensate 3.6 billion bbl
Gas 136.7 billion m
3
4.5 billion boe
AVERAGE DAILY PRODUCTION
Oil Onshore 198,340 bbl
653,1 05 bbl
Offshore 454,765 bbl
GAS Onshore 7.6 million m
3
19.1 million m
3
Offshore 11 .5 million m3
RESERVES LIFE (at above-mentioned production levels)
Oil 16 years
Gas 20 years
ACTIVE WELLS
Onshore 5,561
6,243
Offshore 682
DRILLING RIGS
Onshore 13
28
Offshore 15
PRODUCTION PLATFORMS
Fixed 63
75
Floating systems 12
PIPELINES
Oil 4,261 km
6,202 km
Gas 1,941 km
TANKER FLEET
Number of vessels 72
Tonnage 5.4 million dwt
TERMINALS
Number of terminals 9
Storage capacity 60 million bbl
REFINERIES
Number of refineries 10 + 1 asphalt plant
Refining capacity 1.5 million bpd
Average daily output 1.2 million bpd
IMPORTS
Crude oil 511,000 bpd
Oil products 165,000 bpd
EXPORTS
Gasoline 34,000 bpd
Fuel oil 29,000 bpd
Others 24,000 bpd