PetroleoBrasileiro S.A. or Petrobras (PBR Quick QuotePBR - Free Report) recently announced the commencement of oil and natural gas production from FPSO Carioca, the first platform in the Santos Basin pre-salt Sépia field.

The FPSO Carioca platform, chartered from Japan-based FPSO supplier Modec, has the ability to churn out 180,000 barrels of oil and nearly six million cubic meters of natural gas daily. The unit will operate at a water depth of 2,200 meters and 200 kilometres from the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

The project calls for seven producing wells and four injection wells to be linked to the FPSO. The oil will be flown out by unloading vessels while the gas will be drained through pre-salt gas pipeline channels.

The project includes a technology for removing carbon dioxide from the produced gas and reinjecting the same into the reservoir, lowering carbon-dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and enhancing oil recovery.

The Sépia shared reservoir is made up of the Sépia and SépiaLeste fields, which are operated by Petrobras (97.6%) in conjunction with PetrogalBrasil S.A. (2.4%) and are located in the Transfer of Rights and Concession (BM-S-24) regions, respectively.

Company Profile

Petrobras is the largest integrated energy firm in Brazil and one of the biggest in Latin America. The company’s activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trading and transportation of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons besides other energy-related operations.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Petrobras currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the  energy  space are Devon Energy Corporation (DVN Quick QuoteDVN - Free Report) , Matador Resources Company (MTDR Quick QuoteMTDR - Free Report) and Continental Resources, Inc. , each presently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.