By Jeffrey T. Lewis

SÃO PAULO--Brazilian oil giant Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, said Tuesday it produced more oil in the third quarter compared with the second as it increased efficiency and ramped up output from a new platform.

Petrobras pumped an average of 2.95 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the three months ended in September, an increase of 5.4% from the previous three-month period and an increase of 2.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to its quarterly production report.

The company estimated that production for 2020 will reach an average of 2.84 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Commercial production rose 6.4% from the second quarter to 2.63 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase of 1.3% from a year earlier.

Output of crude oil and natural gas liquids rose 5.3% in the third quarter from the second to 2.36 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, and production of natural gas rose 5.5% from the previous quarter to 540,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Petrobras said in July that output fell in the second quarter from the first because of a sharp drop in demand related to the coronavirus pandemic. In the third quarter, the company reported an increase in output from its Atapu offshore field as a new platform began to produce and increased efficiency at platforms in the Buzios field.

Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-20-20 1829ET