The company noted that the winning bids are subject to confirmation of qualification requirements and all proceedings and bids have been made public.

The awarded blocks include PN-T-597 block in the Maranhao and SEAL-T-268 block in the Sergipe Alagoas basin of Alagoas state.

During the first exploratory period, the company will invest around $4m, including bonus and work programme commitment, for the new blocks, which are expected to cover about196,500 acres.

GeoPark CEO James Park said, "These new blocks allow us to incorporate two new proven onshore hydrocarbon basins into our portfolio and represent one more step in building a balanced portfolio of oil and gas assets in Brazil, with development, production and exploration opportunities."