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Petrobras Oil Output Hits Record as Most Peers Reel From Crash

Petrobras Oil Output Hits Record as Most Peers Reel From Crash

Petrobras wrapped up 2020 with record oil production just as most of its peers reeled from the worst crude-market crash in history.

In a year that brought the U.S. shale industry to its knees, the Brazilian state-run giant pumped an all-time-high 2.3 million barrels a day of crude, according to a statement Thursday. That’s about the same as OPEC member Kuwait.

Operating some of the largest offshore oil finds this century, the Rio de Janeiro-based explorer is reaping the results of a five-year plan to develop fields that rival Saudi Arabia’s in low-cost production.

Most of the crude is coming from the so-called pre-salt fields underneath the Atlantic seabed off Rio’s coast, which the company -- formally called Petroleo Brasileiro SA -- has been ramping up for years.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.