Brazilian oil production increases 4% in 2022, says ANP

Consolidated data for the year 2022, released by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), reveal that national oil production reached 3 million barrels per day, with an increase of 4% compared to the previous year. Pre-salt oil production reached an average of 2.3 million barrels/day in the year, representing about 76% of Brazil’s total production.

Total oil reserves showed, in 2022, growth of 10.6% compared to 2021, reaching 26.91 billion barrels. Proven oil reserves totaled 14.9 billion barrels, an expansion of 11.5%. In the year 2022, oil exports totaled 1.3 million barrels/day, while imports of the product reached 275 thousand barrels/day, registering growth of 68.3%.

With regard to natural gas, production increased by 3.1%, marking the 13th consecutive year of increase. Last year, 137.9 million cubic meters (m³) were produced daily. In the pre-salt layer, natural gas production also continued to expand its share in the national total and corresponded to 71.6% in 2022. Total reserves grew by 4.5%, reaching 587.9 billion cubic meters. Proved gas reserves amounted to 406.5 billion m³, growth of 6.6% compared to the previous year.

Biofuels

In the biofuels sector, biodiesel production in 2022 was 7.6% lower than in 2021. The ANP highlighted, however, that the National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE) reduced the percentage of biodiesel in diesel oil from 12% to 10%, as of November 2021. This measure lasted throughout 2022. Ethanol production was 2.5% higher than in 2021, reaching the historic mark of 30.7 billion liters. Hydrated ethanol was less competitive in terms of price compared to Type C gasoline, which resulted in a 7.5% drop in sales of this fuel in 2022.

National production of oil derivatives grew 6.7% in 2022 and reached 2.1 million barrels/day, accounting for approximately 84% of the installed refining capacity, while sales of derivatives by distributors grew by 3.9%, highlighting the sales of aviation kerosene (+35.9%).

On the other hand, the volume of obligations in the clause of the concession, sharing and onerous assignment contracts, related to investments in research, development and innovation (RD&I), was R$ 4.4 billion, signaling an increase compared to 2021 of the order of 45.8%. The generated amount of government take, including royalties and special participation, for example, reached BRL 118.6 billion in 2022, an increase of 52% compared to the previous year.

Royalties are financial compensation paid to the Union, states and municipalities by oil and gas producers and are collected monthly on the value of field production. Special participation, in turn, consists of an extraordinary financial compensation owed by oil or natural gas exploration and production concessionaires for fields with a large production volume.

international

The international data, which will also be part of the Brazilian Statistical Yearbook of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels 2023, are expected to be released this July.

The ANP also highlighted that, in 2022, two cycles of the Permanent Offer of Blocks and Areas for Exploration and Production of Oil and Natural Gas were promoted by the body: the 3rd Cycle of the Permanent Offer of Concession (OPC); and the 1st Cycle of the Permanent Production Sharing Offer (OPP).