Brazil has awarded 56 offshore blocks and other exploration areas through two licensing rounds held on 7th October 2026, attracting bids from major energy companies, including Petrobras, Equinor, QatarEnergy, Galp and Chinese energy companies. The country’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) confirmed the awards, which comprise 49 blocks under the sixth Permanent Concession Offering and seven pre-salt blocks under the fourth Permanent Production-Sharing Offering.
The awarded acreage spans the Campos, Santos and Ceará basins, alongside onshore exploration areas. Under the concession round, Petrobras secured 12 offshore exploration blocks in the Campos Basin. The company also partnered with QatarEnergy to win seven blocks in the Ceará Basin, located along Brazil’s northeastern Equatorial Margin.
Petrobras will operate these Ceará blocks with a 70% participating interest, while QatarEnergy will hold the remaining 30%. The seven awarded blocks are CE-M-471, CE-M-473, CE-M-475, CE-M-477, CE-M-537, CE-M-539 and CE-M-665. Beyond offshore acreage, the concession round allocated exploration blocks in the onshore Potiguar, Tacutu, Recôncavo, Parnaíba and Tucano Sul basins. Successful bidders in these areas included Eneva, PetroRecôncavo, Aguila, Alvopetro, Origem, Petrom and Tucano Serviços.
Pre-Salt Awards Bring International Energy Companies Into Partnership
The production-sharing round accounted for seven additional pre-salt exploration blocks across the Santos and Campos basins. Norway’s Equinor and Portugal’s Galp jointly secured the Rodocrosita block in the Santos Basin, with Equinor holding a 70% operating interest and Galp retaining the remaining 30%.
Equinor also won the Rubi block. Meanwhile, China’s CNOOC Petroleum and Sinopec secured the Jade block, with CNOOC holding a 70% operating interest and Sinopec taking the other 30%. Petrobras obtained the Azurita block in the Campos Basin and Cruzeiro do Sul in the Santos Basin, securing full interests in both areas.
Brazilian oil company Prio Forte also secured two blocks, Magnetita and Hematita, in the Campos Basin, with 100% interests in each. The awards add to the 56 offshore blocks and other exploration areas allocated through Brazil’s latest licensing process, bringing together domestic and international companies across concession-based and production-sharing arrangements.
Largest Production-Sharing Award Cycle Since System Introduction
According to ANP, the production-sharing auction delivered the largest number of blocks awarded in a single cycle since the permanent offering system was introduced. The outcome exceeded the five blocks awarded in 2025, marking a new high for this licensing mechanism. However, the winning companies must still complete the remaining administrative procedures before the contracts can be signed.
Contract signing is expected by February 26, 2027. The 56 offshore blocks and associated exploration awards therefore remain subject to completion of these formalities, with the scheduled signing date establishing the next milestone in the licensing process.
