Petrobras, Equinor, QatarEnergy and several other energy companies were among the successful bidders as Brazil awarded 56 oil and gas exploration blocks in two licensing rounds held on 7 October 2026.
Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) awarded 49 blocks under its sixth Permanent Concession Offering and another seven pre-salt blocks through the fourth Permanent Production-Sharing Offering.
The concession round also included three separate areas with marginal accumulations. The exploration acreage covered offshore areas in the Campos and Ceará basins, along with several onshore basins.
Petrobras secured 12 offshore blocks in the Campos Basin and joined QatarEnergy to win seven exploration blocks in the Ceará Basin, off Brazil’s northeastern coast.
Petrobras will operate the Ceará acreage with a 70% participating interest, while QatarEnergy will hold the remaining 30%.
The seven blocks are CE-M-471, CE-M-473, CE-M-475, CE-M-477, CE-M-537, CE-M-539 and CE-M-665.
Onshore awards went to companies including Eneva, PetroRecôncavo, Aguila, Alvopetro, Origem, Petrom and Tucano Serviços. The awarded acreage was located in the Potiguar, Tacutu, Recôncavo, Parnaíba and Tucano Sul basins.
The separate pre-salt auction resulted in seven blocks being awarded across the Santos and Campos basins.
Equinor partnered with Portugal’s Galp to secure the Rodocrosita block in the Santos Basin. Equinor will operate the block with a 70% participating interest, while Galp will hold 30%.
Equinor also secured the Rubi block in the Santos Basin.
Chinese energy companies CNOOC Petroleum and Sinopec won the Jade block, also in the Santos Basin. CNOOC Petroleum will serve as operator with a 70% interest, alongside Sinopec with 30%.
Petrobras secured two further blocks with full ownership: Azurita in the Campos Basin and Cruzeiro do Sul in the Santos Basin.
Brazilian oil company Prio Forte acquired the Magnetita and Hematita blocks in the Campos Basin, each with a 100% participating interest.
According to the ANP’s official production-sharing auction results, seven of the 13 available pre-salt blocks attracted winning bids.
The result marked the highest number of blocks awarded in a single production-sharing cycle since the permanent offering system was introduced, exceeding the five blocks awarded in the 2025 pre-salt licensing round.
The successful bidders must now complete the required administrative procedures, including documentation and signing bonus payments, before the contracts can be finalized.
ANP expects the contracts from both licensing rounds to be signed by 26 February 2027.
