Petrobras, Shell, and Exxon among majors securing fresh offshore acreage in Brazil’s latest oil & gas round

Nine companies have won exploration rights for several offshore blocks on offer at the 5th Permanent Concession Offer Cycle held by Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). 

In line with the February announcement by ANP, a public session for the presentation of offers as part of Brazil’s latest bidding round was held on June 17, 2025. In total, 34 blocks were auctioned by nine companies.

In addition to the Parecis onshore basin, the blocks are located in the Foz do Amazonas, Santos, and Pelotas offshore basins. According to ANP, investments amounting to 1.4 billion Brazilian Reais, or $0.25 billion, are planned for the exploration phase, which is the first phase of the contracts.

The winning companies are Brazil’s state-owned giant Petrobras and the Brazilian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil, Chevron, CNPC, Petrogal, Dillianz, Karoon Energy, Shell, and Equinor.

With a premium of over 500%, the signing bonus of 989.26 million Brazilian Reais, or roughly $180 million, is said to be a record for all cycles.

ANP’s interim Director-General, Patricia Baran, highlighted the performance of the Equatorial Margin basins among the results. “We had a premium of almost 3,000% in areas of the Equatorial Margin and competition in 7 of the 19 blocks auctioned. This was the first time that areas in this region were offered under the permanent offer modality.”

The winning companies or consortia will now follow other steps set out in the schedule, such as submitting documents and paying the signing bonus, to sign the contracts. The signing is scheduled to take place by November 28, 2025.

Petrobras acquired ten blocks in the Foz do Amazonas Basin and three blocks in the Pelotas Basin, covering almost 9,600 square kilometers.

The Foz do Amazonas blocks encompass FZA-M-1040, FZA-M-1042, FZA-M-188, FZA-M-190, FZA-M-403, FZA-M-477, FZA-M-547, FZA-M-549, FZA-M-619 and FZA-M-621, in partnership with ExxonMobil Exploração Brasil. All ten are a 50:50 partnership with ExxonMobil, with Petrobras being the operator of the first five and Exxon of the last five.

The P-M-1670, P-M-1672, and P-M-1741 blocks in the Pelotas Basin were acquired in partnership with Petrogal Brasil, a Brazilian subsidiary of Portugal’s Galp. The Brazilian major will act as operator in all blocks, with a 70% stake, while Petrogal will hold the remaining 30%.

Galp describes the trio as early-stage exploration blocks. The gross aggregate signature bonus for the blocks amounted to 11,460,000 Brazilian Reais, or approximately €1.8 m.

Petrobras said the value of the signature bonus to be paid in October 2025 is around 139 million Brazilian Reais, or $25 million. In addition to the signature bonus, another criterion factored into the award decision was the minimum exploratory program (PEM) to be applied to each block, expressed in work units (WUs), which covers the activity to be carried out during the exploratory activity.

“We managed to win the areas that were our priorities, offering bonus amounts within our economic premises. We are satisfied with the auction results. With these results and the continuity of our exploration activities, including in the Equatorial Margin and the Pelotas Basin, we remain optimistic about our chances of replacing oil reserves and ensuring Brazil’s energy security,” said Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard.

The Brazilian giant said its participation in this round is in line with its long-term strategy, strengthening its profile as the main operator of oil fields located in ultra-deep waters, boosting the reserves replacement for the company’s future.

Petrobras has been busy with other activities at home recently. The energy major brought the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Alexandre de Gusmão in the Mero field online more than two months ahead of the schedule foreseen in its business plan.

The construction of topside modules for another FPSO unit set to work in the Atapu field in the Santos Basin is also underway.

Australia’s Karoon won six blocks in the Santos Basin. Two of these, S-M-974 and S-M-1038, are located approximately 17 kilometers from the Neon field and contain the Piracucá discovery. The Australian firm is on the hunt for a partner ahead of making a final investment decision (FID) for Neon.

Julian Fowles, Karoon’s CEO and Managing Director, said: “The newly acquired blocks further strengthen Karoon’s presence in the offshore Santos Basin. Two of the blocks, S-M-974 and S-M-1038, contain the Piracucá discovery.

“Initial technical studies suggest the Piracucá discovery could be an attractive tie-back candidate into a potential Neon FPSO, subject to the proposed Neon development achieving a Final Investment Decision as well as necessary regulatory approvals.”

In addition, Karoon won four deepwater blocks (S-M-1484, S-M-1605, S-M-1358, S-M-1603), located near its existing deepwater exploration acreage in the Santos basin. According to Karoon’s CEO, these were acquired in a strategic move to consolidate the company’s position in the area at a low entry cost.

These deepwater blocks are situated around 80 kilometres southeast of the Baúna field. The FPSO working at this field, Cidade de Itajaí, was recently acquired by the Australian firm.

According to the Australian firm, the formal granting of the blocks is expected to take place in Q4 2025, subject to meeting certain qualification conditions, the payment of a bid bonus of approximately $14.8 million, and providing a financial guarantee for approximately $6.1 million, which is equivalent to 30% of the minimum work program. 

Shell’s Brazilian subsidiary secured the exploration rights as operator and 100% interest holder in four blocks in the Santos Basin located approximately 250 kilometers from the coast: SM-1819, SM-1914, SM-1821, and SM-1912.

The ​​new blocks cover an area of approximately  2,731.26 square kilometers, and the signing bonus amounted to 21,321,000 Brazilian Reais, or around $3.8 million. The company plans to start evaluating the blocks through seismic analysis and other studies to verify drilling potential after contracts are signed.

“The new acquisitions are in line with our strategy to further strengthen our existing deepwater portfolio in Brazil, which is already competitive and high-quality,” noted Cristiano Pinto da Costa, CEO of Shell Brazil. “The country continues to be a strategic market for Shell, and we are proud to continue contributing our technical expertise and operational excellence.”

Shell Brasil recently inked a deal with TotalEnergies to swap stakes in two oil and gas assets offshore Brazil: the recently sanctioned Gato do Mato deepwater project and the Lapa oil field.

Norway’s Equinor won the S-M-1617 block on a 100% basis, with a total signature bonus of around 30.5 million Brazilian Reais (around $5.5 million). The block is located 60 kilometers from the S-M-1378 block already owned by Equinor.

The Norwegian giant believes the win demonstrates its continued commitment and growth ambition in Brazil. It will now work to conduct necessary geological and geophysical assessments for future exploration activities.

“We are pleased with our success in today’s bidding round, securing a new exploration opportunity in Brazil – a core country in our international portfolio. The license is in close proximity to the S-M-1378 block we already own, an area with strong potential that we can leverage to reinforce our position in the Santos basin,” noted Veronica Coelho, Equinor’s Senior Vice President and Brazil Country Manager.

Additionally, one onshore block was won by Dillianz (PRC-T-121), while nine remaining offshore blocks were won by a 50:50 partnership between the Brazilian subsidiaries of U.S. Chevron and China’s CNPC (FZA-M-194, FZA-M-196, FZA-M-265, FZA-M-267, FZA-M-334, FZA-M-336, FZA-M-405, FZA-M-473, and FZA-M-475).