Petrobras, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Petrogal formalize production split for Brazilian oil field duo

May 5, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) has disclosed the go-ahead for the production individualization agreements (AIPs) for shared reservoirs in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin.

FPSO P68 operating in the Berbigão and Sururu fields; Credit: André Ribeiro/Agência Petrobras

Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petrobras was notified by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels on April 30, 2026, regarding the approval of the production individualization agreements for the Berbigão shared reservoir in Zone BVE-ITP/RJS-656 (Sururu) and the Zone BVE-ITD/RJS-697 of Berbigão in the Santos Basin.

The Sururu and Berbigão shared reservoirs encompass concession contract BM-S-11A, operated by Petrobras (42.5%), in partnership with Shell (25%), TotalEnergies (22.5%), and Petrogal (10%), alongside the transfer of rights contract, operated by Petrobras, which holds a 100% interest.

The AIP effective date is May 1, 2026. The agreement sets forth the interests of each party and the rules governing the joint execution of oil and natural gas development and production operations in the shared reservoir.

Effective May 1, 2026, the table shows the interests of each party in the Sururu and Berbigão shared reservoirs; Source: Petrobras

Both of these fields have been producing since 2019 through the FPSO P-68, with a capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day. An AIP is executed in situations when reservoirs extend beyond the areas covered by concessions or contracts, in accordance with ANP regulations.

As a result of the process of individualizing production from the reservoirs, the financial settlement between the expenses incurred and the revenues related to volumes produced up to the effective date of the AIP will be subject to negotiation between the companies.

Petrobras is working on expanding its oil and gas production arsenal, as illustrated by the start-up of the eighth floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel at the Búzios field earlier than planned.