Production-sharing contracts break record in January

Production-sharing contracts hit a new record in January this year, averaging 845,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). The volume is almost double that registered in January 2022 and 11% higher than in December 2021 due to an operational improvement in Campo de Búzios, which presented a volume of 428 thousand bpd, followed by 212 thousand bpd in Libra and 101 thousand bpd in Sepia.

Of the seven contracts currently in production, four played a key role in the January 2023 result, according to Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA), which manages the contracts. They were: Búzios, Sépia, Mero and Atapu. Created in 2013, PPSA operates in the management of production sharing contracts, and represents the Union in agreements for the individualization of production and management of the sale of oil and natural gas.

The data are contained in the Monthly Bulletin of Production Sharing Contracts of PPSA. According to the document, the Union’s oil surplus also showed an increase, with production of 42.9 thousand bpd. The main contributions were from Libra (32.17 thousand bpd) and Búzios (6.04 thousand bpd). In January 2022, the Union’s share was 16.7 thousand barrels per day.

Since the beginning of the historical series, in 2017, the total accumulated production under the sharing system reached 369.30 million barrels of oil. The Union’s accumulated share of oil in the same period is 22.76 million barrels.

Natural gas

In the production of natural gas for commercial use, the result in January was 2.28 million cubic meters (m³) per day, 17% higher than in the previous month due to the improved performance in the Búzios field. This field was responsible for 2.12 million m³/day, followed by Entorno de Sapinhoá, with 140 thousand m³/day, and Sudoeste de Tartaruga Verde, with 24 thousand m³/day.

The Union’s share was 54,000 m³/day, 30,000 m³/day from Búzios, 24,000 m³/day from Entorno de Sapinhoá and 4 m³/day from Sudoeste from Tartaruga Verde. There was a reduction of 57% in relation to the previous period, due to instabilities in the export of gas in Sapinhoá.

Since 2017, the accumulated volume of natural gas has reached 1 billion m³. According to PPSA, the surplus to which the Union is entitled is 151.30 million m³.