QatarEnergy has obtained a 20% working interest and operatorship of the exploration block, while Petrobras holds a 30% stake, TotalEnergies a 30% stake, and Petronas Petroleo Brasil (PPBL) owns the remaining 20% stake
Agua Marinha block is located in Campos Basin. (Credit: Zachary Theodore on Unsplash)
A consortium comprising QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies and Petronas has won the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) Agua Marinha exploration located in the Campos Basin, Brazil.
The consortium secured the licence during the first cycle of open acreage under the production-sharing regime by Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP).
Under the terms of the PSC, QatarEnergy will have a 20% stake, and serve as the operator, while Petrobras will have a 30% stake, TotalEnergies a 30%, and Petronas Petroleo Brasil (PPBL) the remaining 20%.
QatarEnergy said that the award further strengthens its position as an upstream player in Brazil, where it already owns a stake in two producing fields and several exploration blocks.
QatarEnergy president and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said: “We are pleased to achieve this latest successful joint bid, which adds further highly prospective acreage to our upstream portfolio in Brazil and particularly in the prolific Campos Basin.”
“We are delighted to achieve this success with our valued partners Petrobras, TotalEnergies, and Petronas. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the ANP and the Brazilian authorities for this opportunity and for their ongoing support.”
Agua Marinha is a large exploration block spanning a total of 1,300km² and is located around 140km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in the prolific Campos Basin.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023.
TotalEnergies said that its entry into this block follows the entry into the S-M-1815 and S-M-1711 exploration located in the South Santos basin in April 2022.
TotalEnergies exploration senior vice president Kevin McLachlan said: “TotalEnergies is pleased to expand its presence in the Campos Basin with this new exploration block, alongside three strategic partners.
“This is in line with our strategy to focus exploration on selected high potential basins which can deliver material low cost, low carbon intensity resources.”
PPBL recently announced the first oil discovery at the 4-BRSA-1386D-RJS well in its 21% owned pre-salt Sépia oil field in the Santos Basin.
The company also holds a stake in the Tartaruga Verde and Module III of the Espadarte deepwater fields, along with three deepwater exploration blocks in the Campos Basin.
Petronas exploration vice president Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman said: “We are truly thrilled by the favourable outcome of the bid round. This success demonstrates our competitive edge in sustainably developing and monetising assets in the Campos Basin.
“Petronas remains focused to unlock more value from the assets with its partners alongside the host authorities.”