On Wednesday, December 12, Petrobras and its partners celebrated a milestone: they have now produced 1 billion barrels of oil in the pre-salt layer. This total output was achieved just six years after the first production system came on stream in Santos Basin, in Lula field, and 10 years after the first discovery, in 2006, demonstrating Petrobras’ technical capacity.

This performance is unparalleled in the global history of offshore oil production and compares favorably with other important oil-producing areas around the world. For example, in the American portion of the Gulf of Mexico, this milestone was reached 14 years after the beginning of commercial production, and in the North Sea it was achieved in eight years. In Brazil, the same output was only reached in Campos Basin after 15 years of commercial production.

To celebrate this result, Petrobras’ CEO, Pedro Parente, the company’s executive director for exploration and production, Solange Guedes, and the executive director for production development and technology, Roberto Moro, visited FPSO Cidade de Itaguaí, an oil production and storage vessel installed in the Iracema Norte area, in the Santos Basin pre-salt, to take part in a commemorative ceremony. They paid tribute to some of the pioneers in pre-salt’s discovery and development, while recognizing the contributions of thousands of other employees who made this result possible.

“We are experiencing a turning point and we have no doubt of our immense capacity for achievements. I am very moved by the grandiosity of what is happening here today,” said the company’s CEO, Pedro Parente.

“Reaching 1 billion barrels in just six years in ultra-deep waters is a unique feat. It’s not just any company that could tell this kind of story,” said Petrobras’ executive director for exploration and production, Solange Guedes.

Ten years after the first commercial discovery in the pre-salt, it has become one of the world’s most productive oil-producing regions. The area has higher average productivity indicators than the global average for offshore fields. Some wells are lifting 25,000 barrels per day, and productivity is up 30% from 2010. As a result, Petrobras has been able to interconnect fewer wells per production system.

Pre-salt oil production is very important for the company’s financial recovery, representing large-scale production of excellent quality oil for refining, for lifting costs of less than US$8 per barrel. Today, thanks to the contributions of just 11 dedicated systems, nine in Santos Basin and two in Bacia de Campos, pre-salt already accounts for nearly 50% of the production led by Petrobras and around 35% of the company’s own output. Between 2017 and 2021, another 16 large production systems will start up in the pre-salt.

Representing employees, Humberto Americano Romanus, an engineer in the Health, Safety and Environment area, stressed the dedication that led Petrobras to this milestone. “It is a great privilege to represent the people who were part of this story. These women and men worked day and night to achieve the company’s goals.”