Brazilian firm ditching plans to sell Camamu Basin shallow water assets

Brazilian energy player Brava Energia has decided to end the negotiations related to the divestment process of onshore and shallow water assets in Brazil’s State of Bahia.

Brava informed the public that it received proposals from companies interested in acquiring assets from its onshore and shallow water portfolio on January 10, 2025. After that, a meeting was held to discuss the qualified bidders for the sale process to continue.

Following the meeting, the bidders were supposed to receive an invitation letter with detailed instructions on the process, including guidelines for carrying out due diligence and subsequent submission of binding proposals.

In March, Brava’s board of directors defined the scope of the possible divestment transaction, clarifying that the onshore and shallow water assets would encompass fields located in the State of Bahia. The company expected to receive binding proposals in April 2025. 

This was said to be part of a portfolio optimization quest, initiated with the signing of a contract for the sale of 11 concessions in Rio Grande do Norte, aiming to concentrate the Brazilian player’s efforts on what it said are projects with higher profitability and scale.

However, Brava has now decided not to sell these assets after all. As disclosed on May 9, 2025, the decision comes after the company’s onshore assets in Bahia achieved “record production levels” and greater operational efficiency over the past quarters. The firm believes this strengthens its strategic position in the gas segment and enhances the synergies of an integrated portfolio.

Another reason is the progress made concerning the company’s two main offshore projects. Firstly, the FPSO Atlanta working in the Santos basin started production on December 31, 2025. Secondly, operational efficiency was increased at the Papa-Terra oil field in the Campos Basin thanks to works carried out after production was stopped in September 2024.

Brava’s management said the decision not to sell these onshore and offshore assets comes from a position of wanting to maintain a diversified asset portfolio, mitigating the risks linked with concentrated operations to ensure production resilience in a dynamic market.

Based on the information on the Brazilian player’s website, the offshore portion of the Bahia assets entails the Manati field, said to be one of the largest non-associated natural gas fields in Brazil. Located in the Camamu Basin, the field is operated by Petrobras, which holds a 35% stake in it, while Brava has 45%. Another 10% is held by GeoPark, which disclosed the interest was sold in March 2025, and the transaction is expected to close in Q3 2025. According to earlier data, the remaining 10% was held by Brasoil Manati Exploracao Petrolifera S.A.

The Manati wells are connected to the PMNT-1 platform, a fixed production unit installed at a water depth of 35 meters, located 10 kilometers off the coast of the city of Salvador. From there, the gas flows through a 36-kilometer-long pipeline to a compression station (SCOMP), where it is compressed and then travels another 89 kilometers to the EVF processing plant. Apart from gas, the Manati field produces condensate.

Brava Energia’s predecessor, Enauta, which merged with 3R Petroleum to form Brava last year, previously planned to sell its stake in the Manati field in 2022 to Gas Bridge. However, the deal did not go through because the conditions precedent required for the completion of the sale were not fulfilled.

The onshore part of the Bahia assets entails the Recôncavo Complex, covering the onshore oil and natural gas production fields within the Recôncavo Basin. The main fields in this complex are Água Grande and Candeias. This is an integrated operation between the Recôncavo and Rio Ventura hubs.

Last month, Brava started production from wells 4H and 5H at the Atlanta field in block BS-4 within the Santos Basin. The wells, which were previously on stream while FPSO Petrojarl I worked in the field, were undergoing testing and stabilization at the time. The firm plans to connect the last two wells that were previously on stream, 2H and 3H, to the FPSO Atlanta in June 2025.

The FPSO Atlanta is now producing through four wells, encompassing 4H, 5H, 6H, and 7H. The addition of 2H and 3H in June will enable the FPSO Atlanta to be connected to six wells, allowing it to work its way up to ten wells in 2029.