China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) informed on the 10th of November that it had successfully completed the formation test in the Curaçao-1 well in the Aram Block of the Santos Basin, in partnership with Petrobras.

According to information released by the CNPC, the Curaçao-1 well is located 240 km from the city of Santos, in São Paulo, at a water depth of 1905 meters. In November 2021, the presence of an oil layer in the well was confirmed through cable logging and fluid sampling.

CNPC and Petrobras hold 80% and 20% shares respectively in the Aram Block, which was acquired in March 2020, in the 6th Pre-Salt Production Sharing Round.

According to a CNPC official, the successful test of the Curaçao-1 wildcat well is a major breakthrough for the company in terms of oil and gas exploration in deep waters outside China.