Petrobras has started oil production from the FPSO P-78 at the Búzios 6 development in Brazil’s pre-salt Santos basin, further lifting output from one of the country’s most prolific offshore assets.
FPSO P-78 is the seventh platform in operation in the Búzios field, in the pre-salt of the Santos basin. Image: Petrobras
The FPSO P-78 has a production capacity of up to 180,000 bpd of oil and 7.2 million cubic meters per day of natural gas. With the unit now onstream, total installed production capacity at the Búzios field rises to approximately 1.15 million bpd, reinforcing the field’s position as Brazil’s largest producing asset.
Gas from P-78 will be exported to shore via the Rota 3 pipeline system, increasing Brazil’s available natural gas supply by as much as 3 million cubic meters per day. Petrobras said the project supports its near-term production growth targets while expanding domestic gas availability.
The P-78 is the first unit delivered under Petrobras’ new standardized FPSO design framework, incorporating lessons learned from earlier pre-salt developments. The vessel features emissions-reduction technologies, including flare gas recovery systems and energy-efficiency measures across processing operations.
Búzios 6 includes 13 subsea wells—six producers and seven injectors—equipped with intelligent completion systems to optimize reservoir management. The FPSO is the seventh production unit operating at Búzios, which surpassed 1 million bpd of output in late 2025 and remains central to Petrobras’ upstream growth strategy.
