Brazil Hits Record Oil and Gas Production in July

Sept. 1 (Agencia Brasil) In July, Brazil surpassed the 5 million barrels of oil and natural gas production per day mark for the first time in history. The record 5.160 million was announced this Monday (1st) by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the oil and gas industry regulator.

Regarding oil alone, the ANP’s monthly bulletin indicates that production in the month was 3.959 million barrels per day, an increase of 5.4% compared to June and 22.5% compared to July 2024.

Natural gas production in July was 190.89 million cubic meters per day (m³/d), an increase of 5.1% compared to June and 26.1% compared to July 2024.

Production in pre-salt fields accounted for 79.1% of the total in July, reaching 4.077 million barrels per day. This volume represents an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous month and 24.2% compared to July 2024.

Oil and gas from the pre-salt were extracted from 169 wells. The most productive field is Tupi, in the Santos Basin. From there, nearly 800 million barrels of oil were produced per day.

Individually, the platform that contributed most to the month’s record was the FPSO (platform ship) Guanabara, in the shared Mero field, also in the Santos Basin, with 184,300 barrels of oil per day.

Production Origin

The ANP explains that variations in production volume are caused by factors such as scheduled platform shutdowns for maintenance, well startups, well shutdowns for maintenance or cleaning, and the start of platform installation, among others.

Of all the oil produced in Brazil in July, 97.7% came from offshore fields. Regarding natural gas, 86.1% came from the sea.

Petrobras, alone or in consortium with other companies, is responsible for 89.78% of the total oil and natural gas produced.

Rio de Janeiro is the main producing state, accounting for 88% of the country’s oil and 77% of its natural gas.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Oil and Gas (IBP), which represents companies in the sector, Brazil is the 8th largest oil producer in the world. The five largest producers—the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Iran—account for half of global production.

Gas Flaring

In terms of gas recovery, the ANP reports that it reached 97.1%, meaning less than 3% of the gas from wells is flared into the atmosphere. The majority (54%) is reinjected into the wells, 33% is released to the market, and 10% is used as an energy source by the platforms themselves.