Mero Field Surpasses Historic Oil Production Mark, Driven by New Platforms

Petrobras reported that the Mero field in the Santos Basin has surpassed the historic mark of 700,000 barrels of oil per day. The field's production was boosted by the start-up of new platforms and the gradual increase of already installed units, a process known as ramp-up.

The Mero field is located about 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro and operates with floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units. These vessels receive crude oil from the seabed, separate it from natural gas and water, and store the treated oil until a relief ship collects it.

The FPSO units operating in Mero and other fields in the Santos Basin are anchored over water depths that exceed 2,000 meters, with wells descending several thousand more meters to reach the oil trapped under a thick layer of salt. The pre-salt layer is responsible for Brazil's position among the largest oil producers in the world.

The production jump also came from the ramp-up of FPSOs P-78 and Alexandre de Gusmão, as well as the Anna Nery and Anita Garibaldi units operating in other fields. With these units reaching full pace, Petrobras' own production reached a record average of 3.23 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter of 2026.