Petrobras brings forward start-up of Búzios 8 (P-79)

Rio de Janeiro, May 1, 2026 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras announces that the P-79 platform, located in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin, began production today, ahead of the date scheduled in Business Plan 2026–2030 (BP 26–30). As the eighth platform in the Búzios field, with a capacity of 180 thousand barrels of oil per day and 7.2 million cubic meters of gas compression per day, the unit will increase the field’s total installed production capacity to approximately 1.33 million barrels of oil per day. The project will allow gas to be exported to the mainland via connection to the Rota 3 pipeline, with potential to expand the gas supply in Brazil by up to 3 million cubic meters per day.

P-79 arrived in Brazil in February, coming from South Korea, with commissioning and operations teams on board. This strategy generated value by eliminating the need for a stop in sheltered waters in Brazil, and resulted in gains in safety, reliability, and operational readiness through the advancement of system commissioning during transit.

The P-79 platform, an FPSO-type unit, features a new hull design equipped with technologies to reduce emissions and improve operational efficiency. The FPSO is part of the Búzios 8 Production Development project, which includes 14 wells — 8 producers and 6 injectors — equipped with intelligent completion systems to enhance production management. The unit will be connected through rigid pipelines for production, injection, and gas export, as well as flexible pipelines for service lines, enabling the high-capacity production planned for the field’s wells.

P-79 is the eighth platform in operation at the Búzios field, the largest in the country in terms of reserves, which last year surpassed the milestone of 1 million barrels per day. Discovered in 2010, the field is located 180 km off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in ultra-deep waters of the Santos Basin, at depths greater than 2,000 meters. The field is currently operated with FPSOs P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, Almirante Barroso, Almirante Tamandaré and P-78 (started up in December 2025). FPSOs P-80, P-82 and P-83 are under construction, and Búzios 12 is under bidding. In total, the Búzios field will house 12 FPSOs.

The Búzios consortium operating in the field is composed of Petrobras (operator), the Chinese partner companies CNOOC and CNODC, and PPSA, the company responsible for managing the production-sharing contracts.