BP Makes Biggest Oil Discovery in 25 Years Offshore Brazil

BP has announced a significant oil and gas discovery at the Bumerangue prospect in deepwater offshore Brazil, marking the company’s largest discovery in 25 years.

The exploration well, designated 1-BP-13-SPS, was drilled in the Santos Basin approximately 404 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro at a water depth of 2,372 meters. The well reached a total depth of 5,855 meters.

According to BP, the well intersected the reservoir about 500 meters below the structure’s crest and penetrated an estimated 500-meter gross hydrocarbon column in high-quality pre-salt carbonate reservoir. The discovery has an areal extent exceeding 300 square kilometers.

The well was drilled by the Valaris Renaissance (DS-15), an ultra-deepwater GustoMSC P10,000 drillship built in 2014.

Initial rig-site analysis showed elevated levels of carbon dioxide, prompting BP to begin laboratory analysis to further characterize the reservoir and fluids. Additional appraisal activities are planned, subject to regulatory approval.

“We are excited to announce this significant discovery at Bumerangue, BP’s largest in 25 years,” said Gordon Birrell, BP’s executive vice president for Production & Operations. “This is another success in what has been an exceptional year so far for our exploration team, underscoring our commitment to growing our upstream. Brazil is an important country for BP, and our ambition is to explore the potential of establishing a material and advantaged production hub in the country.”

The Bumerangue discovery represents BP’s tenth discovery in 2025 to date, following other successful exploration efforts in Trinidad, Egypt, the Gulf of America, Libya, Brazil, Namibia, and Angola.

BP holds 100% participation in the Bumerangue block with Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. as the Production Sharing Contract manager. The company secured the block in December 2022 during the 1st Cycle of the Open Acreage of Production Sharing of ANP, with terms including 80% cost oil and 5.9% profit oil.

The energy giant has maintained operations in Brazil for more than 50 years and currently holds interests in eight offshore blocks across three basins in the country, operating four of these blocks. In addition to the current Bumerangue campaign, BP has planned an exploration well for the Tupinambá block in 2026.

This discovery aligns with BP’s strategic plans to grow its global upstream production to 2.3-2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, with capacity for further increases through 2035.

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