Brazil’s oil production during the first three months of the year dropped by 6 percent, according to National Petroleum Agency (ANP), media reports said. Brazil produced an average of about 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter. While in the previous year, Brazil produced around 3 million bpd on average.
Brazilian oil giant Petrobras’ oil production was also down during the same period. It produced 2.1 million bpd in the first quarter, down by 5 percent.
Earlier this month, Petrobras acquired BP’s stake in six offshore blocks in the Foz do Amazonas Basin. The financial details of this deal have not been disclosed. BP transferred its 30 percent stake in the offshore assets to Petrobras. This means now Petrobras owns a 100 percent stake in the blocks.
In this regard, Petrobras said, “The transaction is in line with the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, which outlined new exploratory fronts outside the Southeast basins, and is part of the company’s portfolio-management process, prioritising investments in world-class deep-water and ultradeep-water assets.”
Last year, Petrobras had set a new record for annual output in 2020. The oil company pumped an average of 2.28 million bpd in 2020. It broke its previous record of an average of 2.23 million bpd, which was set in 2015.
According to Petrobras, it was greatly helped by the performance at the Buzios Field and improved corrosion-treatment efforts at its subsalt fields. It said that, “The records demonstrate good operational performance despite the challenging scenario of 2020, with greater focus on world-class assets in deep and ultra-deep waters where Petrobras has displayed a large competitive advantage.”