Brazil to Continue Exploring for New Oil and Gas Reserves, Margem Equatorial Becomes a Key Area

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 22, Brazilian President Lula stated during the general debate of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York that Brazil will continue to search for new oil reserves, and explicitly mentioned the Margem Equatorial exploration area in Brazil. Lula said that Brazil has already achieved oil self-sufficiency, and will continue to study the potential of new reserves, including the Margem Equatorial, while continuing to advance the domestic economic decarbonization roadmap.

The Margem Equatorial extends along the northern and northeastern coasts of Brazil, covering sedimentary basins such as Amapá, Pará-Maranhão, Barreirinhas, Ceará, and Potiguar. It is currently a key deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration area for Petrobras. Petrobras' 2026-2030 business plan allocates US$7.1 billion for exploration, of which US$2.5 billion is planned for investment in the Margem Equatorial, with plans to drill 15 new wells.

One of the current exploration priorities is located in Block FZA-M-59 offshore Amapá. On August 14, Petrobras confirmed the discovery of hydrocarbons during drilling of the Morpho exploration well in this block. The well is approximately 175 kilometers from the coast of Oiapoque in Amapá State and approximately 500 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River. The related work is still in the exploration and reservoir evaluation stage.

According to Petrobras' latest plan, three more wells—Manga, PAD Morpho, and Crotalus—are planned to be drilled in Block FZA-M-59 in 2027 to obtain more geological and reservoir data. The three wells are planned to be implemented sequentially, using Foresea's ODN-II drillship or Constellation's Amaralina Star drillship. At this stage, the Morpho well is still undergoing drilling and evaluation work.

In addition to FZA-M-59, Petrobras also obtained permits this year to continue drilling two exploration wells in the PAD Pitu area and Block POT-M-762 in the Potiguar Basin. The company has included the Margem Equatorial, along with basins in southern and southeastern Brazil and overseas exploration assets, in its reserve replacement plan for the next five years.