Brazil’s oil regulators have temporarily ordered halts to several drillship operations due to what could be minor issues that do not usually disrupt drilling, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed industry executives.

Disruption to the drilling of additional wells to known discoveries and exploration of new offshore resources could slow the expected growth in Brazil’s crude oil production.

Last year, unplanned stoppages led to a 1.3% decline in Brazilian crude oil production, which fell to 3.358 million barrels per day (bpd), down from the record high of 3.402 million bpd in 2023, data from Brazil’s oil regulator, ANP, showed earlier this month.

These figures were below the expectations of many observers and analysts who had expected Brazil to be one of the leaders of non-OPEC supply growth after the United States.

OPEC, for example, continues to cite Brazil as a key contributor to non-OPEC supply growth for both 2025 and 2026, together with the U.S., Canada, Norway, and Argentina.

The recent suspensions of several drilling operations could continue to limit the room for growth in Brazil this year.

One drillship was halted due to an explosion on a Valaris drillship at Equinor’s Bacalhau field on February 14. The incident report a few days later said that work would be suspended until the operator can demonstrate the drillship can operate safely, per the report seen by Bloomberg.

Equinor told Bloomberg in a statement that the explosion, due to a malfunction, did not cause any injuries, fatalities, or oil spills.

Equinor targets production start at the Bacalhau field this year. Phase 1 development expects to pump 220,000 bpd of oil, with over 1 billion of estimated recovery reserves for Phase 1.

While the incident at Equinor’s field could be considered ra eason for a temporary suspension of the drilling works, other drillships offshore Brazil have also been halted by the regulators due to what Bloomberg’s sources said were seemingly minor issues that wouldn’t otherwise result in stoppages.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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