(Petrobras, 8.Jun.2016) – Petrobras’ total oil and natural gas production in May reached 2.83 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboe/d), up 5 percent compared to April (2.69 MMboe/d) and up 2 percent compared to May 2015, of which 2.64 MMboe/d were produced in Brazil and 190,000 boe/d were produced abroad.
Average oil production in May was 2.24 million barrels per day (MMb/d), up 6 percent compared to the previous month, which was 2.12 MMb/d, and 1 percent higher than the volume produced in May 2015. Of this total, 2.16 MMb/d were produced in Brazil and 85,000 b/d were produced abroad.
The volume produced in Brazil in the month of May was the fifth biggest monthly average production ever recorded by Petrobras. This growth was mainly due to record pre-salt production, with the entry of new wells connected to the FPSO Cidade de Maricá in the Lula field, and to the resumption of operations on platforms after scheduled and corrective maintenance in April.
The production of oil and gas by Petrobras in the pre-salt layer in May increased 15 percent month-over-month and achieved a new monthly record, with a volume of 1.15 MMboe/d.
Petrobras’ oil production in May from the fields it operates also attained a record level, up 16 percent compared to the previous month, at an average of 928,000 b/d.
Last May 8, oil production from the pre-salt layer exceeded 1 MMb/d for the first time, only ten years after the discovery of these deposits and less than two years after reaching the 500,000 b/d mark, with 52 production wells in seven large production systems in the Santos Basin, and eight production systems in the Campos Basin.
Average production volume per well in the Santos Basin pre-salt layer is 25,000 b/d. The Lula field is the most productive, with average output of 36,000 b/d of oil.
The average cost of extraction in the pre-salt was under $8 per boe and has followed gradually. Average well completion time reached 89 days.
The high productivity of the pre-salt reservoirs, resulting in fewer wells per production system, and the improved efficiency in the construction of wells have significantly reduced investment in projects under way, and increased profitability.
Natural gas production
Domestic natural gas production (excluding LNG) stood at 76.4 million cubic meters per day (MMcm/d), up 4 percent compared to the previous month’s figure (73.5 MMcm/d).
Non-domestic average natural gas production stood at 17.9 MMcm/d, up 3 percent compared to the previous month’s figure (17.3 MMcm/d).
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