Petrobras driving up Buzios crude flow

Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras said it produced a record 615,000 b/d at the Buzios pre-salt field in July, exceeding the giant field's installed capacity of 600,000 b/d.

The Santos basin offshore field hosts four 150,000 b/d floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units that accounted for around 513,000 b/d of 28°API crude in June, according to data from oil regulator ANP.

Total production at the field in July including associated natural gas was 765,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d), up from 645,766 boe/d in June.

Part of the cluster known as the Transfer of Rights, Buzios has quickly become Petrobras' most important upstream project. Last month, the firm launched a tender for three FPSOs with 585,000 b/d of combined capacity as part of a second development phase. Total installed production capacity is slated to be around 2mn b/d by 2030.

A rebound in Chinese demand for light sweet Buzios crude helped Petrobras weather the worst of the market fallout in the second quarter.

The company is now negotiating a co-participation agreement with Chinese state-owned firms CNOOC and CNODC, partners in Buzios excess reserves. The firms each took a 5pc working interest in Buzios in a November 2019 auction, but their final shares in the project could increase once they finalize an agreement to compensate Petrobras for past development costs. The deal is expected to be completed by year-end.

By Nathan Walters