Brazil Oil and Gas Output Tops 6 Million Barrels a Day
ENERGY · BRAZIL
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil, where offshore fields supplied 98.1% of the oil pumped in August 2026, according to the ANP, the national oil, gas and biofuels regulator.
- —What happened Brazil produced 6.002 million barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) in August 2026, the first month above 6 million, ANP data published on 1 October show.
- —The numbers Oil: 4.615 million barrels a day, up 18.4% on August 2025. Gas: 220.55 million cubic metres a day, up 16.8%. Pre-salt share: 82.6% (ANP, August 2026).
- —What it means for you More output means more royalties. Royalties on July 2026 output came to R$6.50 billion (about US$1.25 billion), the ANP said on 29 September.
- —Still open Whether September stays above 6 million. The regulator notes that maintenance stoppages and new platforms make monthly output swing.
Brazil set an oil and gas production record in August, topping 6 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. The total reached 6.002 million boe/d, according to the monthly bulletin of the ANP, the national oil, gas and biofuels regulator.
The ANP published the figures on Thursday 1 October, and Valor Econômico reported them on Friday as an unprecedented mark. Output was 18.05% higher than in August 2025, when the country produced 5.084 million boe/d, Valor calculated.
A Third Monthly Rise in a Row
August continued a steady climb. ANP bulletins put total output at 5.842 million boe/d in June and 5.851 million in July, before the jump to 6.002 million.
Crude alone reached 4.615 million barrels a day, up 2.6% on July. Valor noted that this beat the previous oil high of 4.498 million, set in July.
Natural gas output rose to 220.55 million cubic metres a day. That was 2.6% more than in July and 16.8% more than a year earlier, the regulator said.
The Pre-Salt Carries the Load
The pre-salt, the deep layer of oil beneath thick salt off the south-east coast, produced 4.959 million boe/d. That was 82.6% of the national total and 23% more than in August 2025.
Only 203 wells delivered that volume. Búzios, in the Santos Basin, was again the largest oil field at 1.172 million barrels a day.
Mero, also in the Santos Basin, led gas output with 48.93 million cubic metres a day. Earlier Petrobras gains in the pre-salt are covered in Petrobras Lifts Brazil Pre-Salt Oil Past 4 Million Barrels Daily as FPSO Hub Sets Records.
Fields operated by Petrobras, alone or in consortia, accounted for 87.55% of output. That concentration is a strength while the platforms run well, and a single point of risk when they do not.
Less Gas Burned, More Sent to Market
Higher output did not bring more flaring. Burned gas fell to 4.16 million cubic metres a day, down 11% on July and 14.8% on a year earlier.
The ANP said 98.1% of the gas produced was used. Some 69.41 million cubic metres a day reached the market.
Royalties and the Next Frontier
On 29 September the ANP paid out R$6.50 billion (about US$1.25 billion) in royalties on July output. Conversions use R$5.22 per US dollar, the 2 October close.
States received R$1.72 billion (about US$330 million) and 968 municipalities R$2.20 billion (about US$421 million). The rest went to the federal government and a special fund.
Building on the gas production record over the coming decade will need new exploration areas. Petrobras reported another find in the north, covered in Petrobras Finds More Oil in Brazil’s Amazon Mouth Basin.
That frontier remains contested. Federal prosecutors are fighting the drilling licence, as reported in Brazil Prosecutors Seek Halt to Petrobras Drilling Off Amazon Coast.
What Is Not Yet Known
September figures have not yet been published, so it is unclear whether output held above 6 million boe/d. The regulator warns that planned stoppages and new wells routinely move the monthly total.
Royalties on the August record have not yet been distributed. Their size will also depend on oil prices and the exchange rate in the period.
What is a barrel of oil equivalent?
A unit that adds oil and natural gas together by converting gas into the amount of energy in a barrel of crude. It lets regulators report total output as one number.
How much oil did Brazil produce in August 2026?
4.615 million barrels a day of crude, plus 220.55 million cubic metres a day of natural gas, according to the ANP bulletin published on 1 October 2026.
Which field produces the most oil in Brazil?
Búzios, in the pre-salt of the Santos Basin, with 1.172 million barrels a day in August 2026. Mero, also in the Santos Basin, was the largest gas producer.
Sources: ANP, production bulletin for August 2026, 1 October 2026; ANP, July 2026 bulletin and June 2026 bulletin; ANP, royalties distribution, 29 September 2026; Valor Econômico, 2 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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