First oil flows from Petrobras’ new FPSO at one of world’s largest deepwater fields

January 5, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Brazilian state-owned oil and gas giant Petrobras has brought online the seventh segment of its giant oil field project off the coast of Brazil, with the start-up of another floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Petrobras achieved the first oil production from the FPSO P-78 on December 31, 2025, marking what is described as Seatrium’s expansion of its end-to-end engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) capabilities to include offshore commissioning for FPSO vessels.

Thanks to a deal awarded in 2021, P-78 is said to be the first in a series of six P-Series FPSOs that the Asian firm is building for Brazil’s giant. The latest milestone is perceived to represent the final phase of offshore commissioning works leading to the final acceptance of the vessel by the field operator.

Marlin Khiew, Executive Vice President of Seatrium Energy (Americas), commented: “This is a proud moment for Seatrium – the P-78 achieved first oil in record time, a testament to the agility of our One Seatrium Global Delivery Model and our ability to evolve alongside our customers’ needs to consistently deliver complex, high-quality vessels safely and efficiently.

“This would not have been possible without the continued trust and partnership from Petrobras, as we take the experience and learnings from P-78 to complete our five remaining P-Series FPSO projects, each showcasing innovative sustainability features to support Petrobras’ decarbonisation journey.”

Seatrium, which claims that it leveraged its One Seatrium Global Delivery Model in building the P-78, across the group’s presence in Brazil, China and Singapore, explained that the FPSO was towed safely and efficiently to arrive at the Búzios field with all major marine and production systems fully operational, enabling rapid offshore start-up and first oil readiness.

Located in the Santos Basin, about 180 to 230 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the field where P-78 is deployed is deemed to be amongst the world’s largest deepwater fields. Permanently moored at a water depth of around 2,100 meters using a spread mooring system, the unit is seen as one of the largest FPSOs ever delivered to Brazil.

The vessel is designed to produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day and 7.2 million cubic meters of gas per day, with a minimum crude oil storage capacity of 2 million barrels. The P-Series FPSOs will incorporate green technologies, including carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) to separate carbon and reinject it into the reservoir for safe storage.

Such a move is interpreted to minimize the need for gas flaring. The vessels will also feature energy recovery systems for thermal energy, waste heat and gas, as well as seawater deaeration to lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

Through the six P-Series FPSO projects, encompassing the P-78, P-80, P-82, P-83, P-84 and P-85 units that Seatrium is building, Brazil will gain another 1.305 million barrels of oil per day of production capacity.

The expansion is also expected to create over 60,000 jobs in the communities in which the firm’s Brazilian yards operate. By executing a substantial portion of the work in Brazilian shipyards, the company is making contributions towards local content development, workforce training, and long-term skills enhancement.

Petrobras’ partner, CNOOC, has confirmed the beginning of production at the Buzios6 project, part of the Buzios oil field, which is seen as the largest deepwater pre-salt oilfield in the world. Another FPSO, P-79, left a South Korean shipyard on November 11, 2025, to be towed to its location at the same field, with the start of production slated for August 2026.

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Situated in the Santos Basin, southeast offshore of Brazil, Buzios6 is the seventh project commissioned at the oil field, developed with an FPSO and subsea production system with 13 development wells planned to be commissioned, including six oil producers and seven injectors.

With the sixth addition on-stream, the installed production capacity of the Buzios oil field will reach 1.15 million barrels per day. To enhance environmental performance, P-78 is equipped with closed flare to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and heat recovery devices to reduce energy consumption.

CNOOC Petroleum Brasil, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC, has a 7.34% interest in the Buzios shared reservoir, while the operator, Petrobras, holds 88.99%, and CNODC Brasil Petróleo e Gás the remaining 3.67%.

The field, which surpassed the milestone of 1 million barrels per day in October 2025, was discovered in 2010 by well 2-ANP-1-RJS.