After six years, Espírito Santo returned to vice-leadership in ranking national oil production. The state regained the position of São Paulo, being pushed by the productivity of Campo de Jubarte, located in the area known as Parque das Baleias, in the Campos Basin.
According to the latest production bulletin from the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP), the federal body that regulates the sector, oil production in the state reached around 193 thousand barrels per day in 2025.
The brand is equivalent to 5.1% of national production. São Paulo, which fell to third place, produced 184.5 thousand barrels, accounting for 4.9% of the country. Production in Espírito Santo jumped 24.5% from 2024 to 2025.
Rio de Janeiro is the largest oil producer in the country, with 87.8% of the oil extracted in the country last year.
Throughout Brazil, the production reached 3.770 million barrels/day in 2025an expansion of 12.3% compared to 2024.
Maria Quitéria Platform
The Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (IBP), which represents companies in the sector, highlights that “the great highlight in Espírito Santo is the Jubarte Field, which accounts for 77.3% of the state’s production, and registered an increase of 32.8% in its production in the period 2024-2025”.
Jubarte is operated exclusively by Petrobras and is located approximately 76 kilometers from Pontal de Ubu, in the municipality of Anchieta, southern part of the coast of Espírito Santo.
The Institute for Strategic Studies of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Zé Eduardo Dutra (Ineep), a research center linked to the Single Federation of Oil Workers (FUP), contextualizes that the entry into operation of the FPSO Maria Quitéria platform ship increased production in Jubarte.
The FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Transfer Unit) has a daily production capacity of 100 thousand barrels of oil and the processing of 5 million cubic meters of natural gas. The platform went into operation in October 2024.
At the end of 2025, Jubarte ─ which has wells in the post-salt and pre-salt ─ was the fifth largest producing field in the country, with an average of 152 thousand barrels per day.
For Ineep, the production numbers reaffirm the strategic importance of Jubarte, as well as revealing the high degree of productive concentration in the state.
The research center also highlights the leading role of Petrobras’ investment in exploration and production to “increase national energy gains and strengthen revenue in Espírito Santo and neighboring municipalities [vizinhos]”.
“This movement tends to boost the chain of suppliers and services associated with the sector, generating positive effects on the regional economy and reaffirming the strategic role of Petrobras as an inducer of productive and territorial development”, informs the institute to Brazil Agency.
History and projection
The Federation of Industries of Espírito Santo (Findes) recalls that the state “consistently” occupied second place nationally, between 2007 and 2018, being surpassed by São Paulo in the period between 2019 and 2024.
The federation projects that oil production should grow even further in the coming months, with the resumption of activities at the FPSO Maria Quitéria. The unit halted operations on December 11 for scheduled repairs to the export pipeline. The expectation is to return later this month.
The president of Findes, Paulo Baraona, indicates that the oil segment played a decisive role in the growth of industrial production in Espírito Santo in 2025.
Last year, Espírito Santo was the state with the highest growth in industrial production (11.6%), above the national average (0.6%)according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
“These results show the strategic position of Espírito Santo in the Brazilian economy and on the national energy map.”
5 thousand jobs
Baraona states that the oil and gas sector’s production chain “radiates opportunities” in the state. According to him, there are more than 600 companies in operation, which employ at least 15 thousand formal workers, with remuneration above the national average.
“The projects boost jobs, income and boost the regional economy. Looking to the next few years, we are working to bring new investment opportunities that are already emerging for the sector in Espírito Santo and Brazil.”
Need for investments
For workers in the oil industry, Espírito Santo’s return to vice-leadership is positive, but needs to be interpreted with caution.
The communications director of the Espírito Santo Oil Workers Union (SindipetroES), Etory Sperandio, points out that production in Espírito Santo is still lower than it was years ago.
The numbers for 2025 surpass those of the previous three years, but fall short of 2021, for example, when the state produced more than 210 thousand barrels per day. In 2016, Espírito Santo reached 394 thousand barrels per day.
He highlights that production in Espírito Santo is concentrated in the section of the Campos Basin that belongs to the state (most of it is connected to Rio de Janeiro). However, the union leader demands investments in production and exploration in the Espírito Santo Basin, which is on the north coast.
“The part of the Espírito Santo Basin, which runs from the top of Vitória, more or less, from the Vila Velha region upwards, has greatly reduced production.”
According to the director, companies that have the right to explore need to increase investments. “These fields that were privatized lost investment, the companies that bought them only focused on their production and did not make new discoveries”, he assesses.
