Petrobras to use SAS Analytics software to guide expansion plans

Brazil-based energy corporation Petrobras has selected technology firm SAS Analytics’ software to expand its energy business and identify areas that are likely to produce oil and gas.

The software enables employees to manage vast amounts of data and make better decisions on major projects. Technicians can create statistical models and analyse large volumes of data to increase the recovery factor, the percentage of oil resources in an oil field that is estimated to be recoverable.

Petrobras senior geologist Olinto Gomes de Souza said: "SAS Analytics has proven to be reliable in 100% of our cases. No other software on the market matches this performance."

Petrobras intends to maximise the placement of wells and expand the life of mature fields to improve its onshore production profits. SAS said that on average, such fields produced 230,000 barrels more a day after using its analytics software.

SAS product marketing manager for energy Alyssa Farrell said that the company is helping oil and gas firms across the world to be more efficient with exploration and production.

"Analytics helps them cost-effectively extract resources from conventional and unconventional assets, predict problems before they occur, and improve production from mature fields," Farrell added.

Petrobras has been an SAS customer since 1999. It reached a daily production record of over two million barrels a day in 2007, and aims to become one of the five largest energy firms in the world by 2020.

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Image: Petrobras headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: courtesy of galio.