Equinor, together with partners ExxonMobil Brasil, Petrogal Brasil, and Pré-sal Petróleo SA, has started production at the Bacalhau oil field in Brazil. With recoverable reserves exceeding 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), Bacalhau is the largest international offshore project that Equinor has ever developed.
“The safe start-up of Bacalhau marks a major milestone for Equinor. Bacalhau represents a new generation of projects that bring together scale, cost-efficiency and lower carbon intensity. With this development, we are strengthening the longevity of our oil and gas production and securing value creation for decades to come,” said Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor.
Situated in the pre-salt section of Brazil’s Santos Basin in ultra-deep waters exceeding 2,000 meters, the Bacalhau oil field is served by one of the most advanced Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSO) worldwide. Measuring 370 meters in length and 64 meters in width, the FPSO has a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
Phase 1 of the field’s development comprises 19 wells, including both producers and injectors, which will be brought online in a sequenced ramp-up to sustain production. Equinor has indicated it will provide a progress update in 2026 during this ramp-up phase.
“Around 70 million hours of work have been recorded in the project with solid safety results. I would like to sincerely thank our partners, suppliers, and employees for making this achievement a reality. With its size, water depth and lower carbon intensity, Bacalhau is a testament to our engineering capabilities and ability to operate internationally,” said Geir Tungesvik, Executive Vice President, Projects, Drilling and Procurement.
The Bacalhau FPSO incorporates combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT), reducing carbon intensity significantly. The field is expected to have a CO₂ intensity of approximately 9 kg per boe, with advanced abatement measures applied across flaring, processing, power generation, and storage, establishing new standards for cost-efficient, low-emission deepwater production.
“Brazil is a core area for us and Bacalhau will be a major contributorto Equinor’s goal of generating more than 5 billion dollars of free cashflow by 2030 from our international portfolio. Bacalhau will also deliver positive ripple effects and long-term benefits to Brazil´s economy, creating approximately 50,000 jobs over its 30-year lifetime,” said Philippe Mathieu, Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production International.
MODEC will operate the FPSO during the initial phase, after which Equinor intends to manage the Bacalhau facilities until the end of the license period.