By: OrePulse

Petrobras has signed production-sharing agreements covering eight offshore exploration blocks in Côte d'Ivoire, expanding the Brazilian state-controlled oil company's push into new frontier acreage along West Africa's Atlantic margin.

The companies formalized the agreements at a signing ceremony in Abidjan on September 17, 2026. They cover blocks CI-513, CI-600, CI-601, CI-602, CI-603, CI-605, CI-701 and CI-702, all offshore Côte d'Ivoire. Petrobras will operate each block through its Dutch-registered subsidiary, Petrobras Netherlands B.V., which holds a 90 percent stake in each. At the same time, Côte d'Ivoire's state oil company, PETROCI Holding, retains the remaining 10 percent. Petrobras' executive director of exploration and production took part in the signing.

Petrobras President Magda Chambriard said the company views the area as having "high exploratory potential," pointing to geological similarities between the offshore basins of Côte d'Ivoire and Brazil's sedimentary basins as part of the reasoning behind the expansion. Officials described the agreements as consistent with Petrobras' broader strategy to diversify its exploration portfolio and replenish reserves through opportunities outside Brazil.

Petrobras has not disclosed how much it intends to spend exploring the eight blocks, what drilling commitments it has made, or when exploration work is expected to begin, and it has not made the agreements' financial terms public.

The eight blocks span a broad stretch of Ivorian waters, and Petrobras' 90 percent operating stake gives it decision-making control over exploration activities across all of them, subject to the terms of the production-sharing contracts signed with the Ivorian government. The deal adds Côte d'Ivoire to the list of West African coastal states that have drawn renewed interest from international exploration companies in recent years, as operators weigh the geological parallels between basins on the African and South American sides of the Atlantic.

PETROCI Holding's retained 10 percent stake gives the Ivorian state a direct interest in any discoveries eventually made across the eight blocks, should exploration drilling go ahead. For Petrobras, the agreements mark another step in a strategy of seeking exploration opportunities beyond its home market as the company looks to replenish its reserve base over the long term. Whether any of the eight blocks yield a commercial discovery will depend on exploration results that are not yet available.