In May, Petrobras completed ten years of production in the Santos Basin pre-salt, with indicators of efficiency and productivity above the average of the offshore industry. There are 16 platforms and more than 150 wells operating in that pole alone, which account for 90% of all Brazilian pre-salt production. Extraction costs below $ 7 a barrel and high field productivity raise the pre-salt to one of the most competitive frontiers in the industry.

The company's accumulated production reached 2.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in that layer in just one decade, a volume that corresponds to every proven reserve in Argentina, for example. Today, the pre-salt of the Santos and Campos basins already accounts for approximately 60% of the national production.

In April, Petrobras' pre-salt production hit a new record: a monthly average of 1.94 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, reaching a daily production peak of 2.07 million barrels.

"The unique characteristics of the Santos Basin pre-salt, such as its location in ultra-deep waters, the layer of salt that reaches 2 km in thickness and the distance of 300 km from the coast were an unprecedented challenge for Petrobras and industry. But ten years after the first oil from Tupi, we not only developed unprecedented solutions to overcome the challenges in the pre-salt, using the highest technical competence, but we also verified its economic viability and hit a succession of records . We have plenty of reasons to celebrate this date, "said Petrobras Exploration and Production director, Carlos Alberto Pereira de Oliveira.

Future vision

In the last 11 months, six platforms have begun operations in the Santos Basin pre-salt, each with a capacity to produce up to 150,000 barrels of oil per day. Expectations for the next few years are even more promising as projects for this layer are the company's main investment front: of the 11 platforms planned for the next five years, seven will be installed in the Basin's pre-salt basin. Santos and one in the Campos Basin pre-salt, with a forecast of contribution by Petrobras of US $ 27 billion over the next five years.

In addition, in Campo de Mero, the FPSO Pioneiro de Libra, aimed at obtaining information about the reservoir prior to the implementation of the definitive system, already surpassed the mark of 60 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day with only one interconnected well, indicating high future potential.

Part of the success in this region is due to the experience exchanges with big companies of the sector that work in partnership with Petrobras.