Petrobras Halts Morpho Well Drilling After Drilling-Fluid Leak Off Amapá

Overview

• Petrobras detected a loss of drilling fluid on January 4 in two auxiliary lines linking the rig to the Morpho exploratory well about 175 km off the Amapá coast.
• The leak was contained and isolated, with the faulty lines being brought to the surface for inspection and repair after an ROV identified the issue at depth.
• Drilling is temporarily paused, with one outlet reporting the halt could last up to 15 days as the equipment is evaluated and fixed.
• Ibama was notified immediately, activated its emergency monitoring, and says the episode stemmed from depressurization in auxiliary lines before reaching any hydrocarbons.
• Petrobras reports no problems with the rig or well in this exploratory, non-production phase, in a sensitive region viewed as a high-potential new frontier.