(WO) – Petrobras produced a record average of 3.512 MMboed of oil, NGL and natural gas in the third quarter, up 5.3% from the second quarter and 11.7% from a year earlier. The company attributed the gain to its highest production efficiency in eight years, the ramp-up of the P-78 and P-79 FPSOs at Búzios, FPSO Alexandre de Gusmão reaching peak output at Mero and lower losses from maintenance shutdowns.
Twelve new producing wells started up in the quarter, six in the Campos basin and six in the Santos basin. Total operated production reached a record 5.08 MMboed, and operated pre-salt output hit 4.46 MMboed.
Own pre-salt oil production rose 6.7% sequentially to 2.454 MMbpd, helped by seven new wells, six of them in Santos. Post-salt deep and ultra-deep output fell 4.2% to 341,000 bpd on maintenance losses in Campos and natural decline at mature fields, despite five new Campos wells. Onshore and shallow-water production edged up to 36,000 bpd.
At Mero, FPSO Alexandre de Gusmão, the fifth unit installed at the field, reached its design capacity of 180,000 bpd in August. After a contract amendment to raise capacity, agreed with regulators and environmental agencies, it set a new peak of 190,000 bpd in September. FPSO Sepetiba, leased from SBM Offshore, exceeded its 180,000-bpd design rating with a daily peak of 212,000 bpd. Mero’s platforms averaged 760,000 bpd in the quarter, making it Brazil’s third-largest producing field behind Búzios and Tupi.
FPSO Almirante Tamandaré at Búzios set a monthly record of 263,000 bpd in July and remains Brazil’s highest-producing platform. Búzios platforms also topped 11 MMm3/d of average natural gas exports for the first time.
The P-80 and P-82 platforms left the Tuas Boulevard Yard shipyard in Singapore at the end of September and in mid-October, bound for Búzios. Each is designed to produce 225,000 bpd and compress 12 MMm3/d of gas, and both are scheduled to start up in 2027 as the field’s ninth and tenth units.
“We are producing more and making better use of our assets’ potential, driven by operational excellence, safety, and technology,” said Sylvia Anjos, chief exploration and production officer, citing excellent reservoir performance and a reduction in production decline.
The associated gas utilization index reached a record 98.3%. International production held at 28,000 boed.
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