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Offshore oil and gas industry: Brazil is emerging as the world's largest producer

Written by Valdemar Medeiros
Published 16/11/2020 às 11:39
Industry - offshore - oil and gas
Angra dos Reis – RJ, 03/06/2011. SCAVE – Venue of the Platform P – 56 baptism ceremony event. Photo: Ichiro Guerra/PR.

Brazil is among the world's top 10 producers in the offshore oil and gas industry

Brazil rose three positions in the global ranking of oil and natural gas production in the offshore industry in the last ten years, reaching September this year among the ten largest world producers, informs the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), in a survey published this Thursday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the beginning of disclosure of the national production of the commodity.

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Over the past 10 years, the Brazilian offshore industry has been aggressively leveraged

In ten years, pre-salt production rose almost 60 times, surpassing the mark of 2 million barrels/day. Among the milestones highlighted by the agency is the celebration, in 2011, of the first 100 thousand barrels produced per day by the new region.

In November 2018, the then Lula field, now Tupi, surpassed the mark of 1 billion barrels per day, after having exceeded, in April 2017, the production of the region above the salt layer of the ocean, until then the only explored region. in the country.

New maritime regulations influenced to boost the oil and gas market 

The new maritime regulations also triggered an increase in demand for medium sweet crude oils from Brazil from Singapore, which is a regional maritime hub. This growing demand for medium sweet crude grades from Brazil's pre-salt will be met by increasing supply.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and weaker oil prices after the March 2020 price crash, pre-salt production in Brazil is expanding.

Data from the national oil regulator, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), show in September 2020 a pre-salt oil production of almost 2,6 million barrels per day, 13% higher than the year before. As a result, pre-salt oil production was responsible for 89% of Brazil's total oil production in the period, compared to 78% in the equivalent month in 2019.

The biggest boom in the offshore industry is approaching

Even in the midst of several privatizations, experts say that Brazil is about to witness one of the biggest booms in the offshore oil and gas industry in the world.

A combination of vast oil potential, extremely low sulfur blends of light and medium crude oil, and the growing demand from refiners for lighter, sweeter crude oil, together with low breakeven costs, makes it a highly attractive jurisdiction to investments by large global energy companies.

For these reasons, investments will continue to flow into Brazil's pre-salt oil basins, bolstering the Latin American country's proven reserves and oil production despite the headwinds imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, higher oil prices weaknesses and the emergence of peak demand for oil.

Valdemar Medeiros

Journalist in training, specialist in creating content with a focus on SEO actions. Writes about the Automotive Industry, Renewable Energy and Science and Technology

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