Exploration and production: going deep to innovate

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To get to the top, we dive as deep as possible

In the search for oil, we find ways to continuously transform the Exploration and Production (E&P) market on high seas (offshore) and on land (onshore). Our focus is on the search for profitable assets in ultra-deep waters, which open up ways to diversify low carbon businesses, replace oil and gas reserves and and promote the decarbonization of operations — of our company and our suppliers.

In order to do this, we joined forces with major global energy players to create new projects and we have invested in technologies and teams with technical excellence. Our Oil exploration and extraction is, above all, a way of creating a better future for everyone. Dive in with us and find out how!

Ancora Como é feita a extração

But, after all, how oil is extracted offshore?

1. Exploração: a caça ao tesouro

Na indústria de O&G, tudo começa com o direito de explorar, regido no Brasil pelos modelos de concessão, partilha e cessão onerosa. Com a área definida, iniciamos estudos geológicos e geofísicos detalhados, analisando desde os fluidos — óleo, gás e água — no reservatório até a formação das rochas, usando tecnologia para identificar os locais mais prováveis de encontrar petróleo e as posições ideais para um primeiro poço.

2. Desenvolvimento da produção: estudamos o passado para definir o futuro

Nesta fase, iniciamos o planejamento e a contratação dos sistemas de produção, incluindo plataformas, sistemas submarinos, a perfuração de poços e mais. Avaliamos variáveis naturais, marítimas e econômicas para definir o número de poços, o tipo de elevação e a plataforma ideal. Com tudo definido e executado, começa a produção de petróleo.

3. Produção: onde a magia acontece

Enfim, estamos prontos para produzir petróleo. Na prática, a produção consiste em extrair o petróleo, o gás natural e a água dos poços produtores com plataformas desenvolvidas especificamente para esse fim. Depois, escoamos os fluidos para um sistema em que eles serão separados e tratados para serem utilizados ou reinjetados.

And what happens when a production system comes to an end?

We study viable solutions to act responsibly from the beginning to the end of the production cycle. In order to do this, we use a lot — A LOT! — of technology to perform the decommissioning of our platforms in a way that is safe for people and the environment.

Learn more about our platform decommissioning

Ancora De onde vem o petróleo

Where does the Petrobras oil come from?

Campos Basin

Santos Basin

Other Basins

A true giant of the seas

It is because of the Campus Basin that we are currently world leaders in technology for exploration and production in deep and ultra-deep waters. The region is one of the main and most productive offshore oil and gas basins in the world since the 1970s, and we have the power to grow much more.

It was the birthplace of several innovations that revolutionized the global market and that put our name on the list of the largest and most innovative offshore oil and gas producers in the world.

Map showing the location of the Campos Basin in Brazil

We have the largest oil extraction basin in Brazil

The Santos Basin has always been ahead of its time. Our first activities in the region began in the 1970s, but the technology and knowledge of the time limited our oil production potential. The solution, then, was to pause our operations and develop our own pioneering technologies and establish partnerships.

Decades later, we returned to invest in drilling and well production in the Santos Basin. In 2009, we produced the first pre-salt oil in the Basin, which currently comprises the largest producing fields in the country, such as Tupi and Búzios.

Check out some of the main oil fields in the Santos Basin

Búzios Field

It is the largest field in the world in ultra-deep waters. It reached, in June 2023, the cumulative production of 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), after just five years since the start of operations for the asset.

This result is due to the high productivity per well in Búzios, the evolution of knowledge accumulated in the pre-salt fields and the use of state-of-the-art technologies developed to increase the efficiency of the reservoirs.

Mero Field

It is the third largest pre-salt oil field in the world, trailing behind only Búzios Field and Tupi Field — all located in the ultra-deep waters of the Santos Basin. Just to give you a better understanding of it, in July 2023, the Búzios and Tupi fields represented around 51% of our production.

Its reservoir is highly productive. Just eight months after starting operations in the region, our FPSO Guanabara platform reached a capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day.

National presence that becomes a world reference

In addition to the Campos and Santos basins, we also explore and produce oil and gas in 17 other important basins in Brazil. In total, there are more than 100 production platforms installed.

Check out our map of operations

Map of Brazil showing oil and gas exploration and production basins, highlighting offshore basins (in green) and onshore basins (in blue), such as Solimões, Foz do Amazonas, Potiguar, Recôncavo, Santos, among others.

Ancora FPSO

FPSOs: the ultimate and most modern oil production system

After extraction, the oil needs to go through a process for treatment, collection and shipment to logistics terminals. With the creation of FPSOs, all of this is done at high seas.

FPSOs are floating production, storage and transfer units, and their acronym means: Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading. As they do not require the installation of oil pipeline infrastructure, because they transfer oil to tankers, FPSOs have become the most efficient and modern alternative to supply the energy demand.

We are the largest FPSO operator in the industry around the world, and our pioneering spirit only grows. We are investing in the implementation of 15 new units in the 2025-2030 period, ten of which have already been contracted.

Strategic Plan 2050 and Business Plan Petrobras 2025-2029

Use of FPSOs to explore pre-salt and produce cleaner oil

The pioneering spirit of the units is also focused on sustainability. A growing number of Petrobras FPSOs already use CCUS and Hisep technologies to separate CO2 from extracted oil and reinject it directly into the soil. This process considerably reduces the release of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, and it also increases the productivity of oil wells.

Currently, the 23 platforms operating in the pre-salt fields are equipped with technologies to reduce carbon emissions, increasing production efficiency. In addition, pre-salt fields have lower emissions than the global average. The resilience of low-cost, low-emission oil production will secure the resources needed for a fair and sustainable energy transition.

Ancora Futuro mais sustentável

We explore ideas to produce a more sustainable future

Brazil possesses all the necessary conditions to be a global pioneer in the fair, inclusive and sustainable energy transition. And Petrobras possesses all the necessary conditions — and the plan — to lead this journey in Brazil. Our commitment is to seek continuity in improving the carbon efficiency of our E&P activities.

Since 2009, we have already achieved a 50% reduction in the intensity of GHG emissions in E&P activities. This result comes from actions related to improvements in energy efficiency, reduction of losses and greater use of gas with reduced flare burning, in addition to improvements in accounting and inventory of emissions.

Check out some technologies that are making a difference:

Petrobras workers working at Maritime Terminal

All Electric: This concept represents the new generation of our FPSOs. The fully electrified floating units are even more energy efficient than traditional FPSOs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20%. Our purpose is to electrify all platforms in the coming years.

World's Largest CCUS Program: We are leaders in CO2 capture, utilization and geological storage (CCUS). The exclusive technology reinjects the gas into the reservoir and prevents release into the atmosphere. In 2022, we reached the record of 25% of the total injected by the global industry: 11 million tons!

Deployment of closed flare: Flare burning, which was previously considered essential for oil production, is now used on our platforms only in emergency situations. Our focus is to end routine flaring by 2030.

Link de exemplo

Discover more sustainable initiatives

Ancora Pré-sal

Ancora Transição energética

Energy transition and security are priorities for the global energy industry

Our purpose is to minimize not only the environmental impacts of our activities, but also social impacts. Therefore, we use the most modern technologies in new frontier areas. After all, a digital and data-driven operation not only allows for the construction of better predictive models and greater predictability, but also increases efficiency, boosts results and reduces the carbon intensity of operations.

We expanded our E&P areas and transformed our operations to ensure that everyone has opportunities to access energy, considering cost, distribution infrastructure and a minimum adaptation time.

In this sense, our strategic planning sees the new E&P frontiers as fundamental activities to meet energy demand, while providing resources for a fair, safe and accessible transition in low carbon energy generation.

Discover the frontier in the Equatorial Margin

Glossário - teve dúvida em algum termo? Te explicamos abaixo

O barril é uma unidade de medida de volume equivalente a 158,98 litros (ou 0,15898 m³). O Barril de Óleo Equivalente (BOE) é uma unidade usada para converter volumes de gás natural em equivalência térmica com o petróleo, permitindo comparações entre diferentes fontes de energia.

Tecnologia que reúne captura, uso e armazenamento de carbono, com o objetivo de reduzir as emissões de CO₂ na atmosfera. O CO₂ pode ser reutilizado em processos industriais ou armazenado de forma segura no subsolo.

Cessão Onerosa é um contrato firmado em 2010 entre a União e a Petrobras, que concedeu à empresa o direito de produzir até 5 bilhões de barris de petróleo no pré-sal, com 100% de participação, em troca de pagamento à União.

Regime legal que permite que a Petrobras opere no setor de petróleo e gás, incluindo atividades de exploração, produção e refino.

Conjunto de atividades para encerrar, de forma definitiva, as operações de um sistema de produção, quando ele se torna inviável ou chega ao fim da vida útil.

Eficiência energética é usar menos energia para realizar a mesma atividade, evitando desperdícios. É um dos pilares da transição energética justa e da redução de emissões.

São atividades realizadas para identificar e avaliar reservatórios de petróleo e gás, apoiar a exploração de novas áreas e orientar a gestão dos ativos da Petrobras.

Gases de efeito estufa (GEE), como o CO₂, contribuem para o aquecimento global. Reduzir suas emissões é essencial e pode ser complementado por compensações e tecnologias como o CCUS.

HISEP (High Pressure Separation) é nossa tecnologia patenteada que separa óleo e gás no fundo do mar, permitindo a reinjeção do gás e reduzindo emissões de GEE por barril produzido.

Medida da quantidade de CO₂ e outros gases de efeito estufa emitidos na produção, distribuição e uso da energia contida em um combustível.

Regime contratual em que o petróleo produzido é dividido entre a União e as empresas. No pré-sal, a Petrobras pode ser escolhida como operadora com pelo menos 30% de participação.

Queima em tocha, ou flare, é um sistema de segurança que queima gases residuais em unidades de gás natural e refinarias, evitando sua liberação direta na atmosfera e reduzindo riscos e impactos ambientais.

Técnica usada para devolver o CO₂ presente no gás natural ao reservatório, evitando sua emissão e permitindo a produção de petróleo com menor intensidade de carbono.

Conjunto de métodos usados para trazer petróleo ou gás do fundo do poço até as instalações de produção. Pode ser natural, por pressão, ou artificial, com adição de energia.

Processo de mudança da matriz energética para fontes mais limpas e renováveis, garantindo o acesso universal à energia, de forma equilibrada e sustentável, no presente e no futuro.