Petrobras' Tupi field has produced 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent since it entered production, the first asset in the company's 73-year history to reach that volume. Tupi, in the pre-salt layer of Brazil's Santos Basin, was the first pre-salt system to enter commercial production, in 2010. This year the field again averaged more than 1 million barrels of oil a day, a level it first reached in 2019.

The pre-salt layer is a hydrocarbon-bearing rock formation that sits beneath a thick layer of salt under the seabed. Reaching it required Petrobras to build a new exploration model and develop technology for ultra-deep water that had no precedent. The milestone coincides with 20 years of Petrobras operating in the area.

Sylvia Anjos, Petrobras' exploration and production director, said Tupi's production "inaugurated a new era for the global oil industry." She pointed to the pre-salt layer, which also holds the Búzios and Mero fields, as a combination of large reserves, high output, lower-carbon oil, and efficiency above the company's average.

Pre-salt carries the production plan

Pre-salt output is now Petrobras' main source of production and the backbone of its upstream business. Under the company's 2026-30 business plan, the layer could account for as much as 82% of total production during that period. The company is targeting combined oil and gas output of between 3.1 million and 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent a day by 2030, built on managing and maximizing reservoir potential, improving production efficiency, increasing water injection efficiency, and mapping new opportunities in the area.

Key figures from Petrobras:

  • 4 billion boe: Tupi's cumulative production, a company first
  • 1 million+ bpd: Tupi's average this year, first hit in 2019
  • 82%: pre-salt's targeted share of 2026-30 production
  • 3.1-3.4 million boe/d: total company output targeted by 2030
  • 28 of 57: Petrobras platforms operating exclusively in the pre-salt layer

Ultra-deep water pushed the technology forward

Working in the pre-salt layer required overcoming technical challenges in ultra-deep water that, according to Petrobras, put the company at the front of global oil and gas production, including on carbon intensity. Revenue from pre-salt output also funds the company's energy transition plans. In January 2025, the pre-salt layer's cumulative output reached 7 billion barrels of oil, with 4 billion of that coming from Tupi.

Shell and Petrogal Brasil hold stakes

Petrobras operates Tupi with partners Shell and Petrogal Brasil, along with PPSA, which the company describes as the Union's representative in the Tupi Shared Field.