Galp's Bacalhau Field Off Brazil Passes 25 Million Barrels in Its First Year, With Full Output of 220,000 Barrels a Day Expected Before 2027

Bacalhau, the offshore oil field in Brazil in which Galp holds a fifth, produced 25 million barrels in its first year, and its operator expects it to reach full capacity of 220,000 barrels a day before the end of 2026. Equinor, which runs the field, announced the milestone on 15 October, the first anniversary of first oil; Jornal de Negócios reported on Wednesday that Galp still expects the plateau this year.

What Equinor reported

In its first-year statement, Equinor said Bacalhau had produced 25 million barrels and completed 25 offloadings (transfers of crude from the floating production unit to tankers) since production began on 15 October 2025 in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin. Production was raised step by step as commissioning advanced and new wells came on stream. The wells now operating are showing high productivity, and the field has already recorded output close to its plateau. With work under way on a third injection well, Equinor expects to reach 220,000 barrels a day within 2026.

Nina Koch, Equinor's head in Brazil, said the partners had invested 8 billion US dollars in the first phase. Equinor puts recoverable reserves at more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent and says about 900 people worked offshore on the field each day over the year, supported by about 3,000 helicopter flights. It puts emissions at about 9 kg of CO2 per barrel, against a global average of 17 kg.

Galp's share

When production started, Galp said it holds 20 percent of the project through Petrogal Brasil, a joint venture that is 70 percent Galp and 30 percent Sinopec. Equinor and ExxonMobil hold 40 percent each, and the state company Pré-Sal Petróleo SA (PPSA) is also a partner. Galp is the only partner that signed the original BM-S-8 concession contract, 25 years ago. The production vessel, 370 metres long, sits 185 km off Ilhabela, in São Paulo state, in more than 2,000 metres of water.

At plateau, Galp expects Bacalhau to add about 40,000 barrels a day to its own output, which it said in October 2025 would be an increase of more than 30 percent on its production at the time. On 7 October this year Galp also won the Rodocrosita block next to Bacalhau in a Brazilian bid round, with 30 percent alongside Equinor as operator.

What the numbers show so far

Galp's third-quarter trading update, published on 12 October, puts its working-interest production at 131,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in July to September, up 14 percent on a year earlier and 3 percent on the second quarter, with oil 90 percent of the mix. The update does not break production down by field. It also shows the backdrop: dated Brent averaged 97.0 dollars a barrel in the quarter, against 69.1 dollars a year earlier, and Galp's refining margin rose to 33.8 dollars a barrel from 9.5.

What happens next

• 26 October: Galp publishes its third-quarter results before Euronext Lisbon opens, followed by an analysts' call at 11:00 Lisbon time. The figures in the trading update are provisional.
• By 31 December: Equinor's target for Bacalhau to run at 220,000 barrels a day.

For earlier coverage of Galp on the Lisbon market, see our markets briefing on Galp and the windfall tax. Higher oil prices this year have also been felt at the pump: read how the fuel-tax discount was kept until 31 December and what the new figure on every fuel pump means.