BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 10. QatarEnergy has
secured seven offshore exploration blocks in Brazil, the company
said on October 8.


QatarEnergy, in partnership with Brazil's Petrobras, has won
seven offshore oil and gas exploration blocks in Brazil's 6th
Concession Open Acreage Bid Round, organized by the country's
National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).


The 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
Brazil's Equatorial Margin off the country's northeastern
coast.


“Under the partnership, QatarEnergy will hold a 30%
participating interest in the blocks, while Petrobras, which will
serve as operator, will own the remaining 70%,” the company
said.


QatarEnergy President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, who is also
Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs, said the successful
bids would add prospective acreage to the company's upstream
portfolio in Brazil.


He also thanked Petrobras for its partnership, as well as ANP
and Brazilian authorities for their support, expressing the
company's intention to further strengthen cooperation and work with
stakeholders to advance exploration activities.


The concession contracts are expected to be signed in the first
half of 2027, QatarEnergy said.







The seven blocks cover a combined area of approximately 4,700
square kilometers, with water depths ranging from around 2,000 to
3,600 meters.


The Ceará Basin is located in northeastern Brazil, specifically
along the Equatorial Margin. Extending to the 3,000-meter
bathymetric contour, the basin covers approximately 63,000 square
kilometers, of which around 52,000 square kilometers are
offshore.


Although the basin produces oil and natural gas in shallow
waters, it is classified as a frontier basin because its deepwater
and ultra-deepwater sections remain relatively underexplored. The
first deepwater discovery was made in 2012 through the drilling of
the 1-BRSA-1080-CES (Pecém) well.


A marine geochemical survey using piston-core sampling was
conducted in the basin, identifying various anomalies in marine
sediments indicative of thermogenic gas mixed with shallow biogenic
gas. Biomarker analysis showed that the organic matter was of
marine origin. The survey also helped identify areas of the basin
with more favorable conditions for oil and/or natural gas
accumulation.


The areas identified by the survey are located mainly near the
Sobral–Pedro II lineament and the extension of the Atlântico High
toward the Ceará High.