Brazil: Pre-salt production over 1 million barrels a day

The production in the oil fields operated by Petrobras in the pre-salt layer on Santos and Campos basins have reached a new record on May 8—over 1 million barrels equivalent per day (boepd, oil and natural gas).

In a note released Friday (Jun. 3), Petrobras reported that over 70% of this total s for its own share in the areas. The new mark brings pre-salt oil production up to some 40% of Brazil's total oil output—currently estimated at 2.9 million bpd.

The figure was reached less than ten years after these reserves were discovered, in 2006, and less than two years after the 500 thousand bpd threshold was reached, in July 2014. In the view of Petrobras officials, this casts light on “the technical and  economic viability of pre-salt oil production and its remarkable productivity.” The company notes that the achievement was made possible by the contribution of a mere 52 production wells, which shows “the excellent yield of pre-salt investment.”

“Pre-salt oil exploration projects constitute the main undertaking and focus of investment for companies today due to its strategic role and high profitability,” said Petrobras Exploration and Production Director Solange Guedes.

Petrobras further highlighted that the significant amount produced in the pre-salt layer in the Santos basin—some 25 thousand bopd is considerably higher than the average in the industry, and that nine out of the ten highest producing wells can be found in the area. “The most productive one is located on the Lula field, with a daily output of 36 thousand barrels of oil.”

Competitiveness

According to Petrobras's assessment, Brazil's pre-salt layer is regarded among the world's most competitive new sources of oil under development, due to the production rate of the wells, the low extraction costs, and the implementation of innovative production technology developed by the state-controlled firm and its partners.

“Combining new technologies and the acceleration of the technical learning curve, with a focus on costs and productivity, makes pre-salt projects highly profitable,” the company said.

Thus, average extraction costs have experienced a number of slips over the last few years, going from $9.1 per barrel equivalent in 2014 to $8.3% in 2015, and less than $8 per barrel in the first quarter this year. “A significant result, if compared with the average in the industry, which floats around $15 per barrel equivalent.”

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira

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