Brazilian state-owned energy giant Petrobras is set for a massive $859 million windfall next month after finalizing a complex multi-party cost and volume balancing agreement with its partners, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Petrogal. The deal resolves decades of accounting and production sharing across the giant shared reservoirs in the Santos Basin, aligning financial stakes dating all the way back to 2000.
Petrobras has signed with Shell, TotalEnergies, and Petrogal, partners in the BM‑S‑11A consortium, the cost and volume balancing agreements for Berbigão, Sururu, and the shared assets arising from the effectiveness of the production individualization agreements of the shared reservoir of the BVE‑ITP/RJS‑656 zone of Berbigão (Sururu) and the shared reservoir of the BVE‑ITP/RJS‑697 zone of Berbigão (Berbigão) in the Santos Basin.
As a result, the Brazilian giant will receive a net amount of approximately $859 million from the partner companies of the BM‑S‑11A consortium, which will be settled by November 2026.
The Sururu and Berbigão shared reservoirs comprise the BM‑S‑11A concession agreement, operated by Petrobras (42.5%), in partnership with Shell (25%), TotalEnergies (22.5%), and Petrogal (10%); and the transfer of rights agreement, operated by Petrobras, which holds a 100% interest.
The approval of the Berbigão and Sururu agreements by Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) resulted in the definition of each company’s proportional interests in the shared reservoirs.
Ownership interests in the two deepwater reservoirs; Courtesy of Petrobras
According to Petrobras, the new configuration reconciles production revenues, investment expenditures, operating expenditures, and oil royalties in proportion to the parties’ interests in the shared reservoirs.
The period considered comprises the execution of the BM‑S‑11 concession deal on September 15, 2000, through April 30, 2026, the day prior to the effective date of the Berbigão and Sururu agreements.
Petrobras is actively expanding its global footprint, as illustrated by its negotiations for exploration contracts covering four blocks in Ghana’s Keta Basin.