Petrobras Launches $75 Million Harpia Supercomputer to Boost Oil Exploration

By Charles Kennedy - Oct 08, 2025

Petrobras has commissioned the Harpia supercomputer, a R$435 million ($75 million) high-performance computing system designed to reinforce its leadership in seismic imaging, oil exploration, and production development across Brazil’s offshore basins.

The Harpia is the largest of five new high-performance computers (HPCs) acquired by Petrobras in an investment that expands its total computing capacity by more than 60%. The system, equivalent in processing power to 10 million smartphones, will help geophysicists transform raw seismic data into high-resolution 3D subsurface maps - critical for identifying hydrocarbon reservoirs in challenging environments such as Brazil’s pre-salt and Equatorial Margin basins.

Petrobras’ new HPC infrastructure underscores the company’s drive to remain at the technological forefront of the global oil and gas industry. Harpia’s 146 PFlops Rpeak performance will allow Petrobras to phase out older machines - Fênix, Atlas, and Dragão - while achieving faster, more precise seismic interpretations that enhance operational efficiency and reservoir management.