Lisbon, Oct. 21, 2025 (Lusa) - Galp wants to speed up the connection of the producing wells in the Bacalhau field in Brazil to reach the floating platform's maximum capacity, executive government director Nuno Bastos, responsible for the exploration and production area (upstream), said on Tuesday.
"The challenge we have now is to speed up the whole process of connecting the remaining producer and injector wells so that we can achieve maximum production and a full return on the investment we've made to date," said Nuno Bastos, during a meeting with journalists.
The Bacalhau project, located in the Santos Basin, represents the largest investment in Galp's history, totalling more than €2 billion. "It's only from here that we'll start to see a return on all the investment we've made," he said.
The platform ship, a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit, began operations last week and has a production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day, "the equivalent of Galp's refining capacity in Sines".
According to the manager, Bacalhau is also "one of the most advanced platforms in the world" and has high energy efficiency standards. "It is one of the most energy-efficient units in the world, with a combined cycle natural gas (CCGT) system on board that optimises energy consumption and reduces emissions by around 50% compared to the industry standard," he said.
Equinor operates the project in a consortium with ExxonMobil and Petrogal Brasil (Galp). When it reaches the plateau, it should help increase the Portuguese oil company's total production by around 30%, adding around 40,000 barrels a day.
'When we are at full capacity, this project should generate around $400 million a year in free cash flow for Galp,' said Nuno Bastos.
He also emphasised the company's commitment to more sustainable practices, despite the fossil fuel nature of the business. "I understand the contradiction; we are discussing the oil issue, but there is a real need for consumption and demand. We're here to fulfil that need most efficiently and cleanly possible," he said.
To demonstrate the importance of this project, Nuno Bastos described the size of the infrastructure: "The platform is practically a small city at sea, 370 metres long - the equivalent of three and a half football pitches - and a crew of 160 people working 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
The director also emphasised that Bacalhau "reinforces the resilience and future" of Galp's portfolio, compensating for the natural decline in production in mature fields in Brazil. "This project gives us perpetuity and an opportunity for growth. It symbolises what Galp is in the upstream: efficiency, technology and execution capacity," he concluded.
To better understand the issue's magnitude, production falls by around 5% a year when the decline begins. 'In a production of 100 million barrels a year, or in a consumption of a little more than 100 million barrels a year, there are 5 million barrels that disappear every year and that need to be produced by new fields and new reservoirs every year,' he said.
And given that 5 million barrels is more than Brazil produces today, "it means that every year we need to find a new Brazil and be able to produce a new Brazil around the world," he said.
Norway's Equinor is the leading partner in the Bacalhau project in Brazil's pre-salt Santos Basin, with 40% (operator), along with ExxonMobil, which also holds 40%. Galp holds 20% of the project through Petrogal Brasil, a joint venture with Sinopec (Galp 70% | Sinopec 30%), and Pré-Sal Petróleo SA is also a partner.
This is Galp's 13th unit deployed in the Brazilian pre-salt since 2010.
SCR/ADB // ADB.
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