Proved reserves of Petrobras in pre-salt increased 43% in 2013 compared to 2012. According to the company, the drilling of 42 wells in this pre-salt layer - which stretches from the southern state of Espírito Santo to the state of Santa Catarina - associated with the outstanding performance of the production platforms in the Campos and Santos Basins allowed this growth.

The company points out that the increase in reserves occurs in parallel with an increasing production. On January 13, 2014 came into operation, with a production of 28 thousand barrels of oil per day, the second production well deck of the Cidade de Paraty, in the Lula field, totaling 58 000 barrels of oil per day on this platform.

As a result, on January 14, 2014, was reached a new daily record, in which oil production operated by Petrobras in the pre-salt surpassed the level of 390 thousand barrels of oil per day. The previous record was set on December 24, 2013, with 371,000 barrels of oil per day.

Two basins respond by producing pre-salt: the Campos and Santos. The latter accounts for 51% of this record 390,000 barrels of oil per day, with the operation nine producing wells, proving the high productivity of the discovered fields. The average yield per well in commercial operation , the Pole of Pre-salt in Santos Basin, has been of the order of 25 thousand barrels of oil per well per day, higher than that recorded in the North Sea (15 thousand barrels of oil per well per day) and the Gulf of Mexico (10 thousand barrels of oil per well per day).

The cumulative production in the fields of pre-salt layer, which started in 2008, has surpassed 290 million barrels of oil equivalent. Thus, we reached 6 years of production in pre-salt almost double in 35 years of cumulative field production Grouper (156 million barrels of oil equivalent), located in the Campos Basin. 

In December 2013, three statements of Commercial Viability demonstrated the feasibility of producing in three distinct areas of the pre-salt: Lapa (Carioca), Búzios (Franco) and Lula Sul (Tupi Sul), all in the Santos Basin. 

Additionally, in 2013, the pre-salt discoveries in fields already in production in the Campos Basin, as Albacora, Caratinga and Marlim Leste contributed to the increase in reserves, and especially for rapid monetization of the same, through the interconnection of wells to platforms in operation.

Geologic Success

Another important result which supports the planning of future production areas of the pre-salt is an excellent geological success, it was 100% in 2013, in other words, all the subsalt wells drilled in 2013 accused the presence of hydrocarbons.

In 2014, the Pole of Pre-Salt in Santos Basin, 17 new wells will be connected to platforms already installed.

In the second half of 2014, two new platforms come into production: the Cidade de Ilhabela platform in the field of Sapinhoá Norte, and Cidade of Mangaratiba platform in the field of Iracema Sul, adding 300,000 barrels of oil per day in production capacity. These two new platforms will be connected other 5 new wells in 2014.

The completion of two new platforms (City of Ilhabela and City of Mangalore) and the start of operation of 22 new production wells in 2014 will contribute to reaching new record production in pre -salt this year.