Petrobras Lifts Output 15.1% in H1 2026 and Exports 42.6% as Brent Tops USD 100

Petrobras produced an average 3.281 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half of 2026, up from 2.851 million a year earlier, a 15.1% increase, while crude exports jumped 42.6% to 1.212 million barrels per day.

The second quarter carried the bulk of that gain. Output averaged 3.308 million boed between April and June, 14.4% above the same period of 2025 and 3.5% above the immediately preceding quarter, according to Estadao. Commercial oil and gas production reached 2.927 million boed, up 14.3% year on year.

Crude alone accounted for 2.689 million barrels per day in the quarter, a 15.2% annual rise and 4.1% above the prior three months. Natural gas totalled 619 thousand boed, up 10.7% year on year and 1% quarter on quarter.

The pre-salt did the heavy lifting, averaging 2.299 million barrels per day from April to June, 15.8% more than in the second quarter of 2025 and 5.0% above the preceding quarter. Sylvia Anjos, exploration and production director at the state-controlled company, said the period was marked by the start-up of the P79, the eighth unit at the Buzios field.

Onshore-country oil and natural gas liquids output rose 15.7%, from 2.278 million to 2.636 million barrels per day.

Timing matters more than the percentages. This was the first quarter fully affected by the war between the United States and Iran and by reduced and restricted vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Estadao reported. Before the war, that route carried roughly one fifth of the oil and natural gas traded worldwide. The supply retreat from the region pushed international prices higher, with Brent at one point passing USD 100 per barrel in July.

Buyers shifted with the barrels. China remains the largest purchaser of Petrobras crude, but its share of the company's exports fell, opening room for India, Sweden, Poland and South Africa.

Angelica Laureano, director of logistics, commercialisation and markets, said the volatile international scenario defined the second quarter and made operational efficiency and asset integration more relevant, allowing greater use of the company's own refined output and reduced import needs. She said planning and inventory management meant in-house diesel production was sufficient to sustain the company's commitments through the period.

Total sales across domestic and international markets rose 12.1% to 3.276 million barrels per day. Domestic sales of refined products grew 2.3% in the half to an average 1.744 million barrels per day, with diesel and gasoline leading the increase.

For global crude balances, the arithmetic is simple: an incremental 430,000 boed of Brazilian supply year on year, and 42.6% more Petrobras crude on the water, arrived in the same window that Hormuz throughput tightened. The redirection of cargoes toward India and European buyers such as Sweden and Poland shows where the substitution is landing.

The production data were reported on July 28 by Denise Luna and Gabriela da Cunha for Estadao, with the half-year figures also covered by Portal Energia Limpa in reporting by Luzia Aires.