Repsol Sinopec has encountered oil in its fourth probe in the BM-C-33 licence in the Campos basin, offshore Brazil.

The company, together with Statoil and Petrobras, completed the the Gavea A1 well appraisal well in the ultra-deep pre-salt block BM-C-33 discovery.

According to Statoil, Gavea A1 encountered a hydrocarbon column of 175 meters in a good-quality reservoir of silicified carbonates of the Macabu formation.

The well reached a total depth of 6,230 meters and was successfully tested producing around 16 million standard cubic feet (scf) of gas and 4,000 barrels per day of oil (32/64” choke), the Norwegian oil company said.

This is the fourth appraisal well in the licence, which comprises the Seat, Gavea and Pão de Açucar (PdA) discoveries. In 2013-2015 the consortium drilled and tested the Seat-2, PdA-A1 and PdA-A2 appraisal wells.

With Gavea A1 the consortium has finalized the appraisal activities in BM-C-33 and will now evaluate the sub-surface data and assess lean and cost-effective development concepts.

Repsol Sinopec Brasil is the operator of BM-C-33 with a 35 percent stake while its partners Statoil and Petrobras have 35 and 30 percent stakes, respectively.

As announced in December 2015, Statoil will take over operatorship of the licence. This is expected to happen in the third quarter of 2016, subject to the approval from Brazilian authorities (ANP).