See our official statement on declaration that the oil and gas accumulations of Franco and Sul de Tupi are commercially viable:

"Petrobras announces that it submitted to Brazil’s National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) the declaration that the oil and gas accumulations of Franco and Sul de Tupi are commercially viable. These areas fall within the Transfer of Rights Agreement and are located in the Santos Basin pre-salt.

In the proposal sent to the ANP, the names suggested for the new fields were Búzios and Lula Sul for Franco and Sul de Tupi, respectively.

Franco – Búzios Field

The volume contracted through the Transfer of Rights Agreement for Franco area, of 3.058 billion barrels of oil equivalent, was confirmed in the exploratory phase. The pre-salt reservoirs in this field contain good quality oil (between 26º and 28º API).

During the execution of the Franco Mandatory Exploratory Plan, Petrobras acquired 3D seismic data for the entire area and drilled two mandatory and six additional wells, with the objective of delimiting and characterizing the reservoirs. An extended formation test was also performed.

Búzios field is some 200 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state at a water depth ranging from 1,600 to 2,100 meters.

Petrobras 2013-2017 Business and Management Plan allows for the startup of five production systems for Búzios field by 2020: Búzios 1 – 3rd quarter 2016; Búzios 2 – 4th quarter 2016; Búzios 3 – 3rd quarter 2017; Búzios 4 – 4th quarter 2017; Búzios 5 – 4th quarter 2019.

Sul de Tupi – Lula Sul Field

The volume contracted through the Transfer of Rights Agreement for the Sul de Tupi area, of 128 million barrels of oil equivalent, was confirmed during the exploratory phase. The pre-salt reservoirs in this field contain good quality oil (27º API).

Petrobras acquired 3D seismic data for the entire area and drilled a well, as stipulated in the Mandatory Exploratory Plan.

Lula Sul field is around 300 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state at a water depth of approximately 2,200 meters.

Production in the Lula Sul field will be based on the same production system planned for the Extremo Sul module of Lula field. Petrobras 2013-2017 Business and Management Plan forecasts the first oil from this system in the 1st quarter of 2017.

Now that the declarations of commerciality for the Franco and Sul de Tupi areas have been submitted, the formal process of reviewing the Transfer of Rights Agreement can go ahead. The review will be conducted on a block-by-block basis, taking into consideration the technical and economic assumptions for each area."

Carioca area declared Commercially Viable:

"Petrobras, the Consortium BM-S-9 operator, presented yesterday (19) the Declaration of Commercial Viability to the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) for the oil accumulation in the Carioca area in the pre-salt Santos Basin.

In the proposal submitted to the regulatory body, the consortium suggested that the new field, formed by reservoirs of good quality oil (around 26º API), should be called Lapa. With an estimated total recoverable volume of 459 million barrels of oil equivalent, Lapa is another large field discovered in the Brazilian pre-salt.

The Lapa field is located approximately 270 km off the coast of the state of São Paulo and in around 2,140 meters of water.

Along with the Declaration of Commercial Viability, the consortium submitted the Final Report to the ANP of the Discovery Assessment plan, run after the first well was drilled in 2007.

Petrobras and its BM-S-9 Consortium partners acquired 3D seismic data, drilled five wells, carried out three formation tests and an extended well test.

The BM-S-9 consortium is operated by Petrobras (45%) in partnership with BG E&P Brasil (30%) and Repsol Sinopec Brasil (25%). After the Declaration of Commercial Viability, the Lapa field Development Plan will be submitted to the ANP within 180 days.

The Company’s 2013-2017 Business and Management Plan plans for the first oil from this field in the third quarter of 2016.

In 2011, the consortium had already declared that the Sapinhoá field (in the Guara area), also situated in BM-S-9, was commercially viable. Sapinhoá currently produces about 30,000 barrels of oil per day through the FPSO Cidade de São Paulo with a single interconnected production well. The remaining wells will be interconnected at the start of 2014."

About Petrobras

We have upwards of 100 production platforms, 16 refineries, 30,000 kilometers of pipelines and more than 6,000 service stations. Our proved reserves are around 14 billion barrels of oil, a figure expected to double in the next few years. With the discovery of oil and gas in the pre-salt region, Brazil may become the world's fourth biggest oil producer in 2030.

We have built a track record of overcoming challenges since 1953, when the company was created. The main one was developing technology to explore and produce oil in deep and ultra-deep waters, where upwards of 90% of our reserves are nestled. With innovation and daringness, we are now the Brazilian company that makes the applies for the most patents in Brazil and abroad.