Equinor starts production at Brazil's Bacalhau oilfield

OSLO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor EQNR.OL said on Thursday it has begun production at its Bacalhau oilfield in Brazil, one year later than originally planned when the investment decision was made in 2021.

With recoverable reserves exceeding one billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), Bacalhau is the largest international offshore field developed by Equinor to date, the company said.

"With this development, we are strengthening the longevity of our oil and gas production and securing value creation for decades to come," Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement.

Production will be ramped up gradually, with output updates expected in 2026, the company said.

Discovered in 2012 about 185 km (115 miles) off the coast of Sao Paulo state, the field is equipped with a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) that can pump up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

Equinor in 2023 said the planned startup of Bacalhau's production was postponed to 2025 from 2024 due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that had slowed down the work.

Operator Equinor holds a 40% stake in the field, while ExxonMobil Brasil holds 40% and Petrogal Brasil, a joint venture between Portugal's Galp GALP.LS and China's Sinopec, holds the remaining 20%.

Brazil's government-owned Pre-Sal Petroleo is a partner in the field as production sharing agreement manager.