Petrobras launches world’s biggest PRM scheme

Mero is one of Brazil’s main oil-producing fields and is expanding. In January 2026, it surpassed 680,000 barrels per day on average each month.

This project, unprecedented in deep waters, will provide data that will allow for a deeper understanding of reservoir behaviour and its dynamics over time. This will enable better management, ensuring maximum oil recovery from the reservoirs.

By optimising field management, the technology maximises oil production without a significant increase in emissions, thus contributing to a reduction in the carbon footprint.

The first phase of the project, involving the installation of more than 460 km of cables with optical sensors, covering an area of 222 km², was completed in March. The system will be responsible for monitoring oil and gas production activities on the FPSOs Guanabara (Mero 1) and Sepetiba (Mero 2).

The second phase is also underway with the construction of an additional 316 km of seismographic cables, which will cover another 140 km² of the production areas of the FPSOs Duque de Caxias (Mero 3) and Alexandre de Gusmão (Mero 4). This stage will be completed next year.

For now, computers on board the platforms will receive the data collected from the seabed, but in the future, the data will be sent, via fibre optics, to the company’s headquarters.

Furthermore, Petrobras, in partnership with UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), will use Artificial Intelligence to continuously capture information from the PRM system in the Mero area, contributing to scientific research and operational safety in the field.

The Mero field is located in the Libra Block, belonging to the consortium of the same name, and is operated by Petrobras in partnership with Shell, TotalEnergies, CNPC, CNOOC, and Pré-Sal Petróleo SA – PPSA, which acts as manager of the production sharing contract and represents the Union in the area adjacent to the field.