In the oil and gas development history of Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petrobras, a landmark oil field has just set a new record. The Tupi oil field in the lower salt layer of the Santos Basin has achieved a cumulative production of over 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This is not only the first oil field of this 73 year old enterprise to reach this production scale, but also a significant milestone in the 20-year development of Brazil's sub salt oil fields.

Ultra deep water benchmark project sets production record

The Tupi oilfield is the first commercially developed oilfield in Brazil's pre salt region. After its official launch in 2010, the team began exploring new ultra deep water exploration and development models from scratch, overcoming a series of technical challenges in pre salt operations one by one, and ultimately growing into a benchmark project in the global oil and gas production field. In 2026, the daily production of the oil field will reach a high of 1 million barrels, a peak level that was only achieved for the first time in 2019.

Currently, among the 57 production assets operated by Petrobras, 28 are entirely located in the sub salt layer. In addition to Tupi, super large oil fields such as B ú zios and Mero continue to release production capacity. As of January 2025, the cumulative oil production of sub salt oil layers in Brazil has exceeded 7 billion barrels.

Salt production capacity becomes the core support for enterprise transformation

Yanxia Oilfield, with its unique advantages of large reserves, high production efficiency, and crude oil carbon footprint lower than the industry average, has become Petrobras' most core production pillar. According to the business plan of the company from 2026 to 2030, the proportion of pre salt oil field production to the total production capacity of the company will reach up to 82%, and the overall oil and gas production will climb to 3.1 million to 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.

The stable benefits brought by the development under salt will synchronously support the fair energy transformation process of enterprises and sustain their layout in the low-carbon field. While deeply cultivating domestic sub salt resources, Petrobras is also steadily advancing its overseas expansion. The recent discovery of natural gas exploration near Colombia is its latest move to expand global oil and gas reserves. Keywords: oil and gas development, petroleum energy

From the first underwater exploration 20 years ago to now holding dozens of super large and high-yield oil fields, Brazil's 20 years of underwater development have paved a unique path for ultra deepwater oil and gas development. The milestone of 4 billion barrels in the Tupi oil field is not only a transcript of past technological breakthroughs, but also a new starting point for this South American energy giant's future layout in the global oil and gas market.Editor/Cheng Liting