Brazilian production of oil and gas rises to 3.86 million barrels per day in April

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian oil, and natural gas production in April averaged 3.86 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with a growth of 1.55 % compared to the same month last year (3.80 million barrels per day), informed this Friday the National Petroleum Agency (ANP).

According to data from the regulatory agency, Brazil’s hydrocarbon production in April also grew, by 0.60%, compared to March of this year (3.837 million barrels per day).

In recent months, oil and gas extraction has been recovering in Brazil, with the reactivation of platforms paralyzed for maintenance. It is already approaching the level of July last year when it reached a record of 3.921 million barrels per day.

Brazilian oil production in April alone was 2.999 million barrels per day, representing an increase of 0.6% compared to March and 0.8% compared to the same month last year.

Oil production in April was close to that of January this year (3.032 million barrels per day) and that of July 2021, when it reached a record 3.045 million barrels per day.

And natural gas extraction reached 137 million cubic meters per day in April, with a growth of 1.9% compared to March and 4.1% compared to the same month last year.

If the current growth rate is maintained, Brazilian natural gas production may surpass in May the record reached in July last year, when it was 139 million cubic meters per day.

The data disclosed by the ANP include the production of the 42 companies operating in Brazil which exploit hydrocarbons in 257 areas offered in concession, in six regions in which they produce in association with the State, and in five that the Government provided to Petrobras in the process of capitalization of the company.

According to the ANP, Brazilian hydrocarbon production in the so-called pre-salt in April reached 2.911 million barrels per day, equivalent to 75.4% of the country’s total output and 5.4% higher than in the same month last year.

The pre-salt is the exploitation horizon discovered by the Brazilian oil company Petrobras in the very deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Below a layer of salt two kilometers thick, whose gigantic reserves could turn Brazil into one of the world’s largest oil and gas exporters.

The offshore fields were responsible for 97.3% of the oil extracted by Brazil in April and 86.5% of the natural gas.

By companies, Petrobras, with 3,644 million barrels of hydrocarbons extracted per day, 94.4% of the national Total, remained the largest oil and gas producer in Brazil.

It was followed by the Anglo-Dutch Shell (440,014 barrels per day), the Portuguese Petrogal (132,342), the Spanish Repsol Sinopec (88,133), and the French Total (82,589).