TotalEnergies has announced the start-up of the Lapa Southwest project offshore Brazil, marking another step in the development of the Lapa field in the pre-salt Santos basin. The company operates the project with a 48% interest, working alongside consortium partners Repsol, through the joint venture Repsol Sinopec Brazil (25%), and Shell (27%). The Lapa Southwest project development includes three wells connected to the floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) Lapa, enabling additional output from the offshore asset. With the launch of the Lapa Southwest project, production from the field, formerly called Carioca, is expected to increase by 25,000 barrels per day, raising total gross production capacity to around 60,000 barrels per day.
The Lapa field is located in block BM-S-9A in the pre-salt Santos basin and began production in December 2016 using the FPSO Cidade de Caraguatatuba. The start-up of the Lapa Southwest project strengthens the field’s operational performance while utilizing existing infrastructure. By linking the new wells to the FPSO, the project expands output capacity and supports continued production growth from the offshore development. The latest start-up also highlights the long-term role of the Lapa field within the broader offshore portfolio managed by TotalEnergies and its partners.
The commissioning of the Lapa Southwest project comes as TotalEnergies continues to expand its exploration and production presence in Brazil. The project follows the start-up of Mero-4 in May 2025 and precedes the planned start-ups of Atapu-2 and Sépia-2, which are expected in 2029. TotalEnergies’ exploration and production portfolio in the country currently includes nine licenses, of which four are operated. In 2025, the company reported an average production level in Brazil of 184,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, underscoring the country’s importance to its global upstream portfolio.
Repsol is also strengthening its exploration and production activities in Brazil, where the country is considered one of its core growth regions. The Raia project located in BM-C-33 within the Campos Basin is among its key projects. Being developed in partnership with Equinor and Petrobras, the project is expected to begin operations in 2028 and has the potential to become one of the country’s most significant sources of natural gas.
TotalEnergies has maintained a presence in Brazil for 50 years. Its activities extend across Exploration & Production, gas, renewable electricity including solar and wind, lubricants, and chemicals. In addition to upstream investments such as the Lapa Southwest project, the company is expanding its renewable energy footprint in Brazil. In October 2022, TotalEnergies entered a partnership with Casa dos Ventos, Brazil’s leading renewable energy player, to jointly develop a 12 GW renewable energy portfolio including onshore wind, photovoltaic, and battery storage projects.
