On 15 October at 22:56 Rio time, Equinor, together with its partners ExxonMobil Brasil, Petrogal Brasil (a Galp and Sinopec joint venture), and Pré-sal Petróleo SA (PPSA), commenced production from the large Bacalhau field in Brazil. With recoverable reserves of over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), Bacalhau stands as Equinor’s largest international offshore development to date.
"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,” says Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor.
Bacalhau is situated in the pre-salt area of Brazil’s Santos Basin, in ultra-deep waters exceeding 2,000 metres. The field is equipped with one of the world’s most advanced Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, measuring 370 metres long and 64 metres wide, and capable of producing up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
The Phase 1 development includes 19 wells—both production and injection wells—that will be gradually brought online as production increases and stabilizes. Equinor plans to share an update in 2026 during the 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,” says Geir Tungesvik, Executive Vice President, Projects, Drilling and Procurement.
The Bacalhau FPSO is equipped with combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) technology, which greatly reduces carbon intensity. With an estimated CO₂ intensity of about 9 kg per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), and advanced emission controls across flaring, processing, power generation, and storage, the field establishes a new standard 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,” says Philippe Mathieu, Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production International.
MODEC, the FPSO contractor, will manage operations during the initial phase. Following that, Equinor will take over and operate the Bacalhau facilities through the remainder of the license period.
