Rio de Janeiro – Average oil production by Brazilian oil company Petrobras in Brazil in September was 2,003,940 barrels a day, a volume 1.2% greater than that produced in August this year and 5.6% greater than production in September last year. The result also represented a new monthly record for production, on exceeding the previous record, obtained in March this year, by 12,000 barrels.
Production of natural gas in domestic fields, in turn, reached a daily average of 51.358 million cubic metres, maintaining the same levels as produced in the previous month and in September 2008.
According to Petrobras, the new record was possible due to the return to operation of platform FPSO Cidade de São Vicente, in Tupi field, in the pre-salt layer of Santos Basin, and of platform P-19, in Marlim field, in Campos Basin. Also contributing to the growth is the entry into operation of Piranema Platform, in Sergipe, and the greater production of wells connected to the P-48 (Caratinga) and P-51 (Marlim Sul) platforms, both in Campos Basin – which caused a difference of 24,000 barrels a day when compared to August 2009.
Petrobras conjugated production of oil and natural gas (barrels of oil equivalent) in Brazil was 2,326,969 barrels of oil a day, 4.5% growth over the volume produced in September last year and 1.3% over August this year, according to the state-owned oil company.
The volume of oil and natural gas produced in countries in which Petrobras operates reached 245,263 barrels of oil equivalent a day, a result that was 10% above production in September 2008.
The Petrobras figures show that this increase is due to the start of production of Agbami and Akpo fields, both in Nigeria. When compared with August this year, the growth was 4.7%, due to the normalisation of production in Austral Basin, in Argentina, after the end of a union mobilisation that took place that month.
When considering fields in Brazil and abroad, total Petrobras production of oil and natural gas reached a daily average of 2,572,232 barrels of oil equivalent in September, growth of 5% over the same month in 2008 and 1.6% over August of the present year.
Petrobras gas production abroad, in turn, reached 16.311 million cubic metres a day – growth of 9.9% over the previous month, also boosted by the normalization of production in Austral Basin, in Argentina.
*Translated by Mark Ament