Pipeline technology to help Brazil tap pre-salt deposits

Oil services company Wood Group Kenny said Tuesday it secured more than $2 million in contracts for work off the coast of Brazil from Petrobras.

Program director Hugues Corrignan said the company has a strong relationship with Brazilian energy company Petrobras, a relationship strengthened by new contracts.

"We are particularly pleased to be selected to support Petrobras in these challenging projects and have the opportunity to positively contribute to the introduction of innovative technologies in the Brazilian environment," he said in a statement.

Wood Group Kenny said it would help Petrobras and its partners develop heated pipeline technology for oil deposits trapped beneath a thick layer of submarine salt, dubbed pre-salt. The oil services company said the technology would be the first ever in a pre-salt environment.

The technology targets the Lapa field, located about 170 miles off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras in December said the field holds 459 million barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable reserves.

Brazil ranks second behind Venezuela in proven oil reserves in South America.