By Brazil Stock Guide — Brazil’s crude oil production reached an all-time high of 4.711 million barrels per day in September, a level that would place the country among the world’s five largest producers when compared with 2025 annual averages. The figures, released on Tuesday (November 3) by Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), represent a 20.3% increase from a year earlier and a 2.1% rise from August.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Brazil ranked ninth among the world’s crude oil producers in 2025, averaging 3.77 million barrels per day. Its September 2026 output exceeded the 2025 production averages of Iraq (4.39 million barrels per day), China (4.33 million), Iran (4.05 million) and the United Arab Emirates (3.77 million). On that basis, only the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Canada would remain ahead of Brazil. The comparison is indicative rather than an official ranking, as the final standings for 2026 will depend on full-year production figures for all countries.
Brazil’s oil production surge was accompanied by another record in natural gas output, which reached 223.98 million cubic meters per day, up 17.5% year-on-year. Combined oil and gas production climbed to 6.12 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), an increase of 19.7% from September 2025. It was the second consecutive month in which Brazil exceeded the 6 million boe/d threshold.
The main driver of growth remains Brazil’s pre-salt province, a vast collection of oil and gas reservoirs buried beneath thick layers of salt deep below the Atlantic seabed. Pre-salt production reached a record 5.1 million boe/d in September, up 23.1% from a year earlier. The region accounted for 83.3% of Brazil’s total oil and gas output, with production concentrated in just 205 wells. Of that total, crude oil contributed 3.945 million barrels per day, while natural gas accounted for 183.66 million cubic meters per day.
State-controlled Petrobras maintained its dominant position in Brazil’s energy industry. Fields operated by the company, either independently or through joint ventures, accounted for 87.02% of the country’s combined oil and gas production. On an equity-interest basis, however, Petrobras’ attributable share was approximately 3.66 million boe/d, equivalent to 59.8% of national output. The distinction reflects the participation of international oil companies and other partners in Brazil’s offshore projects.
The Búzios field, located in the pre-salt Santos Basin off Brazil’s southeastern coast, remained the country’s largest oil producer, pumping 1.19 million barrels per day — roughly one-quarter of total Brazilian crude output. Búzios also led natural gas production, at 49.99 million cubic meters per day. The Almirante Tamandaré floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), operating in the field, was Brazil’s most productive individual oil installation, averaging 259,500 barrels per day.
The Santos Basin accounted for approximately 3.78 million barrels of oil per day, or 80% of Brazil’s total, while the neighboring Campos Basin contributed another 832,000 barrels. By state, Rio de Janeiro led national production with 4.05 million barrels per day, followed by São Paulo with 315,000 barrels and Espírito Santo with 264,000 barrels. Offshore fields were responsible for 98.1% of all crude oil extracted in Brazil during September.
In natural gas, the ANP reported a utilization rate of 98.2% in September. Of the total volume produced, 66.37 million cubic meters per day were made available to the domestic market, while another 132.9 million cubic meters were reinjected into underground reservoirs. Reinjection is used for several purposes, including maintaining reservoir pressure and improving oil recovery, and is particularly important in Brazil’s deepwater pre-salt operations.
The successive production records underscore the scale Brazil’s oil industry has achieved and the growing importance of its pre-salt reserves to global energy supply. While Brazil’s final position in the 2026 international rankings remains to be determined, September’s performance shows that the country has reached a production level comparable to that of the world’s five largest crude oil producers.
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