Petrobras again postpones completion of well drilling in Foz do Amazonas

Folha and g1 reported that the drilling of the Morpho well, in the FZA-M-59 block, should only be completed between the end of August and the beginning of September. The expectation was that the process would be completed on August 7, after the first postponement due to the leak that occurred last January. The delay, according to Petrobras technicians, would be due to strong sea currents in the region, already identified as one of the causes of the accident that paralyzed the operation at the beginning of the year.

The president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, stated that the opening of the well is being done with caution, as it is a new exploration region. “We are proceeding very carefully,” he said. Care is not free: the January incident, with a fluid leak during well prospecting, forced the oil company to change the schedule, postponing the completion of the operation from February 2026 to the beginning of August. The company was fined R$2.5 million by IBAMA.

Meanwhile, Petrobras released this week data on total oil and fossil gas production in the 2nd quarter of 2026. Around 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) were produced, an increase of more than 14% compared to the same period last year and 3.4% above the 1st quarter of this year. According to the company, the increase was influenced by the growth of almost 17% in pre-salt production and 12% in post-salt production in deep and ultra-deep waters.

The company highlighted that the increase in pre-salt production was driven by improvements in production efficiency on the FPSO Maria Quitéria and FPSO Alexandre de Gusmão, P-78 platforms, the start of production on the P-79 and the lower volume of losses related to maintenance stoppages.

The semi-annual figures also indicate a substantial increase in fossil fuel production this year. Petrobras recorded total commercial production of 2.879 million boe/d, an increase of more than 15% compared to the same period in 2025.

A large part of Brazilian production is going to the foreign market. According to Petrobras, exports of oil and derivatives grew 43.6% in the 1st half of this year, with emphasis on oil sales, which reached 942 thousand barrels per day (an increase of 51%). On the other hand, as O Globo highlighted, the share of China, the main buyer, in exports fell from 62% at the beginning of the year to 35% in the 2nd quarter. This loss ended up being offset by an increase in sales flow to India, Europe and Asia.

Agência Brasil, CNN Brasil, Exame, InfoMoney, R7 and Valor, among others, shared data on the production of fossil fuels in Brazil.