The first large Santos pre-salt platform has its useful life extended.

Bruno de Freitas Moura, reporter for Agência Brasil - The Cidade de Angra dos Reis oil production platform, the first large-capacity platform to operate in the pre-salt fields of the Santos Basin, on the Southeast coast, will have its useful life extended by another five years.

The information was released this Wednesday (22) by Petrobras, the majority company in the consortium that operates the Tupi Field, 300 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

The platform vessel is an FPSO model, an acronym in English for Floating Production Storage and Offloading, which means a floating unit with the capacity for production, storage and transfer of oil.

The FPSO has been in operation since October 2010 and has a production potential of over 50 barrels per day. Petrobras reported that it has reached an addendum to the platform's charter and service provision agreement with Tupi Pilot MV 22 BV and Modec Serviços de Petróleo do Brasil Ltda, extending the FPSO's operating period until 2030.

The extension of the contract term enables adjustments to increase production reliability and efficiency, maintain platform integrity, operational safety and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming.

“The signing of these amendments is in line with the 2025-2029 Business Plan and reinforces the commitment of Petrobras and its partners to the continuity and expansion of their operations in the Tupi field,” the state-owned company said in a statement.

The consortium producing in Tupi states that the platform ship will be decommissioned (definitive interruption of operations) in 2030. According to Petrobras, decommissioning occurs when production facilities reach the end of their useful life or the production capacity of the fields is reduced, making them economically unviable.

Learn how an oil platform works

PRE-SALT - The entry of Cidade Angra dos Reis into operation is considered by Petrobras to be one of the milestones in pre-salt oil production in the country.

Pre-salt reserves are reservoirs drilled at depths of 5 to 7 kilometers. To give you an idea, 7 kilometers is approximately the highest point in the Andes Mountains.

In 2024, pre-salt oil helped oil become the country's main export product.

According to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), from January to November – the latest available data, the country produced 36,9 million barrels of oil per day (Mbbl/d), with 71,5% originating from the pre-salt layer. Looking only at data from the second half of the year, this percentage jumps to 80,3%. In addition to the Santos Basin, there is also oil production in the Campos Basin, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.

The Tupi consortium is formed by Petrobras (67,216%), the Anglo-Dutch Shell (23,024%), the Portuguese Petrogal (9,209%) and Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA), which represents the Brazilian government, which holds 0,551%.