BP has announced its largest oil and gas discovery in a quarter century at the Bumerangue block in Brazil’s Santos Basin — a breakthrough that underscores the company’s shift away from renewables and back toward fossil fuels to rebuild investor confidence and enhance upstream growth.
Drilled 404 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in 2,372 meters of water, the exploration well 1-BP-13-SPS reached a total depth of 5,855 meters. It intersected an estimated 500-meter gross hydrocarbon column in a high-quality pre-salt carbonate reservoir, with an areal extent exceeding 300 square kilometers.
“This is another success in what has been an exceptional year for our exploration team,” said Gordon Birrell, BP’s Executive Vice President for Production & Operations. “We are excited to announce this significant discovery at Bumerangue, BP’s largest in 25 years. 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 find is poised to become a cornerstone of BP’s upstream strategy, potentially extending the life of its production portfolio well into the 2030s and 2040s. It follows other 2025 discoveries in Trinidad, Egypt, the Gulf of America, Libya, Namibia, Angola, and elsewhere in Brazil.
Though BP has not disclosed reserve estimates for Bumerangue, early assessments suggest it could support a new large-scale production hub. A BP spokesperson said the discovery may rival the scale of Shah Deniz — the company’s last major breakthrough in 1999.
However, the company acknowledged elevated carbon dioxide levels in the reservoir, a factor that could affect economic viability. Former Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates has warned that high CO₂ content in associated gas might render some pre-salt developments commercially unfeasible. BP will now undertake lab analysis and further appraisal activities, pending regulatory approval.
The strategic implications are significant. The discovery aligns with BP’s broader pivot to boost oil and gas output amid investor concerns over its earlier green energy transition. The company plans to maintain upstream production between 2.3 million and 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day through 2030, slightly down from 2.4 million in 2024, but with flexibility to scale beyond 2035.
BP acquired the Bumerangue block under favorable commercial terms in December 2022, holding 100 percent participation, with Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. managing the Production Sharing Contract.
The announcement comes just ahead of BP’s Q2 earnings report and offers a timely boost to the company’s narrative as it refocuses on fossil fuels in response to global supply constraints and persistent energy demand.
Baburajan Kizhakedath