By Brazil Stock Guide – Petrobras SA (PETR4.SA; PBR) has lifted oil production at its Tupi field back above 1 million barrels a day, restoring output at one of Brazil’s most symbolic pre-salt assets after years of decline.
The milestone was reached last Friday following the connection of 11 new wells over the course of 2025, bringing the total number of wells drilled in Tupi to 150. Once the country’s largest producing field, Tupi had lost ground in recent years as output at Búzios expanded.
Petrobras Chief Executive Officer Magda Chambriard said the recovery reflects a coordinated technical and operational effort to revive the field. “This is the result of an effort by the company and its teams that took a Tupi — which was once Brazil’s largest field but had been in decline and was overtaken by Búzios — and brought it back to this level,” she said. “It is the recovery of a symbol for Brazil, and Petrobras is always looking for more.”
Tupi first surpassed the 1 million-barrel-a-day mark in 2019. The company is now studying additional drilling campaigns, the potential installation of a new production platform from 2031 onward, and life-extension projects for some of the nine units currently operating at the field. Any new developments will depend on approvals from partners in the consortium and Brazil’s oil regulator.
The field, operated by Petrobras alongside partners Shell Plc (SHEL) and Galp Energia SGPS SA (GALP), was the first large-scale, high-productivity discovery in Brazil’s pre-salt layer. Petrobras says the return to peak output underscores the competitiveness of the pre-salt province, which has become one of the world’s most attractive offshore oil frontiers over the past 16 years.
Of the 57 production platforms currently operated by Petrobras, 28 are dedicated exclusively to pre-salt fields. Cumulative output from the layer reached 7 billion barrels in January 2025, led by Tupi, Búzios — the world’s largest field in ultra-deep waters — and Mero.