MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil: Búzios deepwater field produces 1 billion barrels of oil in March

Despite its size, Búzios trails the smaller but older Tupi field in volume output

The Búzios Field in the Santos Basin, the largest ultra-deepwater facility of that kind worldwide, produced 1 billion barrels of oil in March, the state-owned company Petrobras announced this week, Agencia Brasil reported. Petrobras operates the field in a consortium with Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) and the Chinese companies CNOOC and CNODC.

 In June last year, Búzios had already recorded accumulated production of 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent—which considers oil in barrels plus natural gas production, converted to barrels of oil equivalent (boe). However, the current figure solely encompasses oil production.

Búzios commenced activities in 2018 and currently operates through five units, namely the FPSOs (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) P-74, P-75, P-76, P-77, and Almirante Barroso.

According to Petrobras, the thickness of its reservoir matches the height of Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, and its expanse exceeds twice the area of Guanabara Bay. The field is situated 180 km offshore and at depths surpassing 2,000 meters.

Búzios is considered to be the world's largest ultra-deepwater oil field in terms of its extension and reserves. However, it is not Brazil's most productive field - the Tupi Field is. According to the National Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels Agency (ANP), Tupi accounted for a quarter (25%) of Brazil's offshore oil and gas production last year, while Búzios contributed approximately 18%.

Tupi surpasses Búzios due to its longer operational history, but this trend is expected to shift. According to the ANP, in 2023, oil production from the Búzios Field surged by 10.28%, while production from the Tupi Field declined by 3.5%.

The company also forecasts an increase in production at the Búzios Field, with plans to install new production systems over the coming years. The field's capacity is expected to reach approximately 2 million barrels of oil per day by 2030.