Brazilian oil and gas company PRIO, formerly known as PetroRio, has picked up an operating license for a subsea tie-back project in the Campos basin off the coast of Brazil.

The Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Natural Renewable Resources (Ibama) greenlighted a few months ago the installation of the Wahoo field production development system and the interconnection of wells to the FPSO Valente, formerly known as Frade.

The South American country’s federal agency responsible for environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources has now granted the operating license for the same field.

As a result, PRIO claims that this license award concludes the final regulatory step for the start of production from the field, which is currently in the final stage of commissioning.

Wahoo is perceived to have the potential to produce over 125 million barrels of oil in the pre-salt layer, some 150 kilometers from the coast in 1,400 meters of water depth.

The FPSO Valente has a processing capacity of 100,000 barrels per day and storage of up to 1.5 million barrels. The unit will be connected to the producing Frade field.

PRIO’s plan encompasses drilling four producing and two injector wells, with first oil target between March and April 2026.

The drilling permit for the six-well campaign was received last year, when the Hunter Queen rig started mobilizing to the site.

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