Offshore Brazil reserve estimate one-sided: Enauta

Offshore Brazil reserve estimate one-sided: Enauta

Rio de Janeiro, 24 March (Argus) — An estimate for oil and gas reserves at the Cutthroat prospect in Brazil's offshore Sergipe-Alagoas basin was unilaterally prepared by US independent Murphy Oil before drilling started in late February, Brazilian independent oil company Enauta told local securities watchdog CVM.

Enauta, a partner with Murphy and ExxonMobil in the SEAL-M-428 block where the Cutthroat well is being drilled, said "the prospect's assessment will only be effectively known after drilling and the final logging of the well." Drilling is expected to wrap up in the second quarter.

CVM questioned Enauta on the reserves estimated after the company's share price spiked following a news report that Murphy estimated "mean to upward gross resource potential" at Cutthroat at between 500mn-1.05bn barrels of oil equivelant (boe), a figure included in a company presentation on 21 March.

Enauta holds a 30pc working interest in the SEAL-M-428 block, ExxonMobil a 50pc operating stake and Murphy the remaining 20pc.

Last week, Enauta chief executive Decio Oddone, the former director general of Brazilian oil regulator ANP, said the consortium only planned to drill one well at SEAL-M-428 this year.

In a 22 March presentation to investors Murphy Oil chief executive Roger Jenkins highlighted the "massive amounts