QatarEnergy wins seven Brazil offshore exploration licenses

The seven exploration blocks are located in Brazil’s Ceará Basin, with QatarEnergy holding a 30% participating interest alongside operator Petrobras.QatarEnergy, in a consortium with Brazil’s Petrobras, has won seven exploration blocks in the sixth Concession Open Acreage Bid Round organised by Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).In a statement on Thursday, QatarEnergy said the awarded blocks are located in the Ceará Basin, along Brazil’s northeastern Equatorial Margin.QatarEnergy will hold a 30% participating interest, while Petrobras, the operator, will hold 70%.Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy President and CEO Saad Sherida Al Kaabi said the successful bids would add prospective acreage to the company’s upstream portfolio in Brazil. “I would like to thank our valued partner Petrobras, with whom we worked closely on this partnership, as well as ANP and the Brazilian authorities for their valuable support. We look forward to further strengthening our partnership, and to work with all stakeholders for a successful exploration,” Al Kaabi said.The awarded exploration blocks (CE-M-471, CE-M-473, CE-M-475, CE-M-477, CE-M-537, CE-M-539 and CE-M-665) are located in the Ceará Basin, along the northeastern Equatorial Margin of Brazil.The blocks cover a combined area of approximately 4,700 square kilometres and are located in water depths of about 2,000 to 3,600 metres off the Ceará Basin.QatarEnergy will hold a 30% participating interest, alongside operator Petrobras, which will hold 70%QatarEnergy said the concession contracts would further strengthen and expand its upstream position in Brazil and are expected to be signed in the first half of 2027. The latest awards build on QatarEnergy’s existing presence in Brazil. The company holds a 21% interest in the Sépia field, alongside Petrobras, TotalEnergies and Petronas, according to Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras in a statement published on February 6, 2026.In May 2024, QatarEnergy announced that the consortium partners in the Sépia joint venture had taken the final investment decision for the second development phase of the Sépia field, offshore Brazil.The second development phase includes an FPSO with a crude oil production capacity of 225,000 barrels per day and a gas processing capacity of 10 million cubic metres per day.