E&P

Petrobras gets direct entry into the negotiation phase.

With deepwater knowledge gathered over several decades in pre-salt basins, Brazil's national energy company, Petrobras, is now looking towards Africa because of its mirror image geology 

Being conjugate basins, Brazil and Africa share very similar geological patterns, making it structurally and technically easier for Petrobras to explore and generate production.

While Petrobras' massive pre-salt fields off the coast of Rio de Janeiro are highly lucrative today, these are gradually declining in production count and might stop producing by the 2030s. The Brazil oil major is thus strategising resources diversification to replenish its oil resreves. It keeps seeking new frontiers to expand exploration portfolio, generating long-term value and sustainability for the company. 

Securing four blocks in Keta Basin

Ghana's Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has approved Petrobras' application for negotiation of exploration contracts in four blocks in Keta Basin on the west coast of Africa.

This gives Petrobras direct entry into the negotiation phase of the exploration contract terms. 

Acquiring operatorship offshore Sao Tome and Principe

In April this year, Petrobras signed a contract with Oranto Petroleum for the acquisition of a stake and Operatorship of Block 3, offshore Sao Tome and Principe, in Africa.

Petrobras is acquiring 75%, and upon completion of the transaction, the consortium will consist of Petrobras (operator, 75%), Oranto (15%), and ANP-STP (10%).

Since 2024, Petrobras has resumed its operations on the African continent and already has a stake in blocks in Sao Tome and Príncipe.

The acquisition of the block in Sao Tome and Príncipe, complied with all the company's internal governance procedures, and is in line with the 2026-2030 Business Plan. 

Offshore Ivory Coast

In 2025, the Ivory Coast government, through its Council of Ministers, approved Petrobras' declaration of interest for nine blocks. This is the first phase in the acquisition process for exploratory areas in the region, which is then followed by contractual negotiations of the exploratory blocks.

Petrobras highlights that the decision to submit the declaration of interest to the Ivory Coast government complied with all of the company's internal governance procedures, in line with its long-term strategy. 

Interests in Nigeria's frontier deepwater acreage

In May 2025, Petrobras expressed interests to invest in Nigeria's frontier deepwater acreage at an interministerial review meeting chaired by Nigeria's Vice President Kashim Shettima. 

"The presence of six ministers and the Solicitor-General of the federation in this review meeting ahead of the second session of the Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism shows the importance we have attached to our relationship with Brazil.

"We have not maximally capitalised on the fraternity between us and Brazil, but it is better late than never. The upcoming SDM presents an opportunity to execute sector-specific Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and unlock investment flows," said Shettima.

Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed ongoing engagements with Petrobras, saying, "Apart from Ethanol, which they are hoping to engage the NNPCL for blending, Petrobras is also being actively engaged, and we expect they will form part of the delegation to Nigeria. Petrobras is no longer active in Nigeria, but they are very keen on coming back to Nigeria. They said they want frontier acreage in deep waters."

Block CI-27 powers Abidjan in Ivory Coast.

It has been more than a decade since Ivory Coast began thinking on an international scale to capitalise on its rich deepwater resources

This phase involved a complete overhaul of its legacy petroleum laws which were reframed with global investors' interests in focus. Petroleum sharing contracts became the standard default vehicle, generous cost-oil recovery limits were introduced, and profit-oil split brackets and royalty tax structures became clearly defined. 

Global offshore influence

World-class discoveries by Italian major Eni like Baleine and Calao followed soon after, and these deepwater developments of immense scale were achieved in record two years -- a feat previously unheard of. Vaalco Energy brought the Baobab field in Block Cl-40 online early this year with license extension through 2038 for development drilling plans. In May, Viridien started CDI25 -- a seismic reimaging project in the Tano Basin, Ivory Coast, which will be a drill-ready multi-client dataset for explorers. Ivory Coast's offshore influence as a coveted destination for global operators shot up, thanks to its administrative overhaul. 

Banking on this investor-friendly environment, Panoro Energy has been the latest to enter Ivory Coast with the acquisition of DNO's entire 9.09 per cent interest in offshore Block CI-27.

New player in high quality, gas producing Block CI-27

Panoro Energy sees the gas producing block as high-quality and anticipates more than 20,000 boepd from it in terms of group production. It will increase pro forma group production by ~23 per cent and group 2P reserves by ~11 per cent.

As Ivory Coast's largest reserves of non-associated gas, Block CI-27 powers the country's largest city and economic capital, Abidjan. This high profile Block, however, generates yield at a unit cost as low as US$6/boe from four offshore fields (Foxtrot, Mahi, Manta and Marlin) tied back to two fixed platforms.

This entry adds to Panoro's upstream ambitions in Africa, marking the beginning of its long-term interests in Ivory Coast, which might surpass Block CI-27. The Block gives Panoro the perfect gateway to one of Africa's strongest hydrocarbon regions, promising high output at low cost with well managed gas and liquids production and reserves. 

In 2025, Block CI-27 produced 195 MMscfd, meeting more than 70 per cent of the country’s gas demand. Operator, Foxtrot International, has initiated a five well infill drilling campaign for enhanced recovery, sustaining production plateau around the 190 to 200 MMscfd level with scope to increase to around 230 MMscfd dependant on demand.

Gross remaining reserves are estimated at 540 Bscf and 5 MMbbls with a further 380 Bscf and 9 MMbbls of resources offering material reserve replacement and growth opportunities in the future, holding potential to produce well beyond the current PSC term.

Block CI-27 is privately held Foxtrot whose principal business is a 27.27 per cent effective participating interest. DNO CI LLC holds an indirect 33.33 per cent interest in Foxtrot International and therefore an indirect 9.09 per cent interest in the Asset. Other joint-venture partners in the Asset include PETROCI and SECI S.A

Made for a consideration of US$80mn on a cash free / debt free basis, the transaction will be financed through a combination of equity, comprising seven million new Panoro shares for DNO, and debt of a fully placed US$50mn senior unsecured bond issuance.

Diversifying Panoro's African portfolio

“This high-quality acquisition represents a continuation of Panoro’s strongly accretive growth strategy and follows the transformational acquisition of an additional interest in Block G offshore Equatorial Guinea from Kosmos Energy which we announced in February and completed in June 2026. The addition of an indirect 9.09 per cent interest in Block CI-27 offshore Ivory Coast brings material reserves and production to Panoro, while further diversifying our African portfolio both geographically and from a commodity perspective through long-life, gas-weighted production supported by stable, low-volatility pricing and sales arrangements that are de-linked from oil prices.

"Our new entry into Ivory Coast, one of the fastest growing economies in West Africa, is particularly attractive given the country’s strong private investment, structural economic diversification and expanding hydrocarbon sector, all of which provide long-term support for this strategic acquisition and follow-on growth opportunities in country as and when they arise.

"We look forward to establishing an excellent cooperation with the field partners including the operator Foxtrot International, the national oil company of Ivory Coast PETROCI, SECI SA and also the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Energy.

"Importantly, this landmark acquisition is accretive for Panoro shareholders on all standard industry metrics and will further enhance our ambition to continue delivering long-term, sustainable shareholder returns,” said Julien Balkany, executive chairman of Panoro. 

Chevron will be assessing the tie-back potential of the discovery.

Chevron Corporation-subsidiary, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (CABGOC), has discovered oil and gas condensate at the 105-4X exploration well in Block 0 offshore Angola

Drilled in the prolific Lower Congo Basin, the well encountered an oil and gas condensate column of more than 600 meters (2,000 feet) in the primary Pinda reservoir, with more than 90 meters (300 feet) of net pay in excellent reservoir quality. 

In line with its optimised production approach, Chevron will be assessing the tie-back potential of the discovery as the major has existing facilities nearby.

“This discovery is another important milestone for Chevron’s over 70-year history in Angola,” said Kevin McLachlan, vice president - exploration, Chevron. “By combining high-impact exploration with infrastructure-led opportunities close to existing facilities, we are growing our resource base, creating value, and demonstrating that our strategy is delivering, as well as our continued confidence in Angola’s resource potential.”

Block 0 is operated by CABGOC, which holds a 39.2 per cent working interest, and is co-owned by Sonangol E&P (41 percent working interest), TotalEnergies (10 percent working interest) and Azule Energy (9.8 percent working interest).

This discovery will significantly add to Chevron's well-established exploration programme in sub-Saharan Africa, from where it sources a combined production count of 300 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day net. Existing resource base and active exploration programme across the region is positioned to sustain and grow production into the future.

Over the last year, Chevron has been focussed on selecting high quality exploration acreage from Africa to its existing portfolio. In Nigeria, the company farmed into two offshore blocks last year (PPL2000 and PPL2001) and was awarded a deepwater block PPL2010 in the country's latest bid round. Chevron has also had three near-field exploration successes – Meji NW-1, South Delta AA and Awodi-07 – in Nigeria since late 2024, where it is continuing an ongoing exploration and appraisal program. In Guinea-Bissau Chevron has secured three blocks including the newly acquired Block 4B which closed on 13 August 2026, while in Equatorial Guinea it has secured an additional five-block reconnaissance licenses. 

Aligned with its exploration strategy, Chevron is preparing a high-impact, multi-well exploration programme across the region, including Namibia’s Nabba-1X well on PEL90 before year-end.

These initiatives underscore Chevron's confidence in the region's resource potential and its disciplined approach to building long-term value through high-impact, frontier exploration.

The agreement gives Equinor access to a drill-ready prospect. (Image source: Equinor)

Equinor has stepped into Namibia with the acquisition of a 17.4% participating interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence 90 (PEL 90) in Orange Basin

The strategically secured agreement with Chevron subsidiary, Harmattan Energy, gives Equinor access to a drill-ready prospect that is scheduled for testing this year.

“This transaction aligns with our strategy to strengthen and replenish our international portfolio through focused and disciplined growth. Namibia is a promising basin that adds attractive option value to our portfolio and complements our broader Atlantic Margin position,” said Philippe Mathieu, executive vice president for exploration and production international.

The licence relates to Block 2813B in the Orange Basin, offshore Namibia, and is operated by Chevron. Prior to the transaction, Chevron’s subsidiary owned an interest of 52.5% in PEL 90, with the other partners in the licence being QatarEnergy (27.5%), Custos-subsidiary Trago Energy (10%) and the state-owned oil company NAMCOR (10%).

From Harmattan's end, this seems like a risk diversification move since January when the company had reported no commercial hydrocarbons from the licence's Kapana 1-X exploration well.

Harmattan, however, had acknowledged the data acquired from exploration operations as hopeful in terms of future programmes on PEL 90. “The geologic insights and improved confidence in the future programme on PEL 90 from these operations provides strong support for continued progress and value in our portfolio in Namibia’s Orange Basin,” said Knowledge Katti, chairman and CEO of Custos. 

“We look forward to the many opportunities ahead to further unveil the quality of our unmatched position in the heart of the Orange Basin including the future activity on PEL 90 and the ongoing activity on PEL 83”. added Robert Bose, CEO of Sintana Energy, which enjoys a 49% indirect interest in Custos Energy.