Petronas Petróleo Brasil (PPBL), a subsidiary of Petronas, and its partners have signed a production sharing contract (PSC) for the Agua Marinha exploration block off the coast of Brazil.
PPBL and partners Petrobras, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy won the block in December 2022 during Brazil’s first cycle of open acreage under the production sharing regime.
With a 30% stake, Brazil’s state-owned company Petrobras will operate the block.
The 1,300km² Agua Marinha block is located in the rich Campos Basin, at a water depth of about 2,000m off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
Petronas Vice President of Exploration Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman said: “This milestone reinforces Petronas’ steadfast commitment to developing and monetising assets in the Campos Basin, to ensure greater alignment with our growth agenda in a continuously evolving energy landscape.”
PPBL and QatarEnergy each hold a 20% participating interest in the project and the remaining 30% stake is held by TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies senior vice president of exploration Kevin McLachlan said: “The signature of the PSC for Agua Marinha expands our presence in this promising area of the pre-salt Campos Basin, alongside our three strategic partners, and we are looking forward looking to exploring the block and drilling the Touro prospect.
“Offshore Brazil, with its material low-cost, low-emission resources is a core area for the company. This block, along with the two South Santos basin concessions obtained in 2022, further reinforces our exploration portfolio in this high potential area.”
Separately, Petrobras announced that it has signed PSCs for two other blocks including Norte de Brava, in which it owns a 100% stake, and Sagitário block, which is 60% owned by Petrobras and 40% by Shell Brasil.
