Petrobras Commences Operations of P-78 Platform at Búzios Field, Boosting Brazil’s Offshore Production Capacity

The P-78 platform, which arrived at the Búzios field in late 2025 after transit from Singapore, has a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day and 7.2 million cubic meters of natural gas daily. As the seventh FPSO in operation at Búzios, it integrates with 13 wells—six producers and seven injectors—and connects to the Rota 3 pipeline, enabling increased natural gas transport to the continent. This connection has the potential to augment Brazil’s gas supply by up to 3 million cubic meters daily. With P-78 operational, Búzios’s total installed capacity reaches approximately 1.15 million barrels per day, representing a near 20% production increase at the field, which had surpassed 900,000 barrels per day prior to this deployment.

Petrobras president Magda Chambriard highlighted the platform’s contribution toward the company’s 2026 production goal of 2.5 million barrels per day (excluding natural gas). The company’s focus on technological advancements is evident in P-78’s design, featuring emissions reduction systems such as gas recovery, variable speed drives on pumps and compressors, and integrated energy efficiency measures in hydrocarbon processing.

Búzios, discovered in 2010 and operated by a consortium led by Petrobras (88.98%), alongside Chinese entities CNOOC and CNPC, remains Brazil’s largest offshore oil field in terms of reserves and output. The field’s pre-salt reserves, located beneath a two-kilometer salt layer in ultra-deep waters, underpin Petrobras’s long-term production strategy, with projections to reach 1.5 million barrels per day by 2030. Petrobras plans to deploy a total of 11 new FPSOs across the pre-salt domain by 2027, six of which will be dedicated to Búzios, continuing the upward production trajectory supported by consistent technological and operational enhancements.