THE Petrobras acquired a stake in an oil exploration block off the coast of Namibia, in southwest Africa. The area is in the Lüderitz Basin and covers around 11 thousand square kilometers (km²), equivalent to half the size of Sergipe.
The information was released through relevant facta communication that companies make to investors.
The state-owned company explains that it acquired a 42.5% stake in the area, identified as Block 2613. The French oil company TotalEnergies, Petrobras’ partner in oil production in Brazil, acquired another 42.5%.
Namibian government-owned Namcor Exploration and Production owns 10%, while Eight Offshore Investment Holdings owns 5%.
The stakes acquired by Petrobras and TotalEnergies were sold by the companies Eight and Maravilla Oil & Gas.
The statement does not inform the acquisition value. The company added that the completion of the deal also depends on the fulfillment of precedent conditions, including governmental and regulatory approvals, notably from the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy of Namibia.
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The president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, points out that the new participation is part of the company’s efforts to restore oil and gas reserves.
“We have been very carefully evaluating areas that have shown good prospects, both in Brazil and in other parts of the world,” he said, adding that the purchase marks the company’s return to Namibia.
The Director of Exploration and Petrobras, Sylvia Anjos, emphasized knowledge of the geological formation of the exploratory basin.
“We have a lot of geological knowledge of the region, much of it analogous to our sedimentary basins. We look closely at the west African coast and the good opportunities in Africa. It was like that in São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa and, now, Namibia”, he stated.
Africa
The African continent is a Petrobras bet to increase the current stock of oil reserves, predicted to decline in the 2030s.
Petrobras resumed operations on the African continent in 2024. On February 8 of that year, the company completed the acquisition of stakes in three exploration blocks in São Tomé and Príncipe, on the west coast of Africa. In two blocks the participation is 45%; and in the third, 25%.
In October 2024, Petrobras’ Board of Directors approved the company’s operations in South Africa, enabling the acquisition of a stake in the Deep Western Orange Basin (DWOB) block, through a competitive process conducted by TotalEnergies.
Americas
In addition to positions in Brazil and Africa, Petrobras has operations in South America and the United States.
In Colombiathe state-owned company announced, in December 2024, the discovery of the largest gas reserve in the country’s history. THE giant well Sirius-2operated in a consortium with Ecopetrol, a Colombian state oil company, has a capacity equivalent to almost half of Petrobras’ daily gas production in Brazil.
In Argentinathrough the subsidiary Petrobras Operaciones SA, the company holds a 33.6% stake in the Rio Neuquén production asset.
In Boliviathe oil company produces gas mainly in the San Alberto and San Antonio fields, with 35% interest in each of these service operation contractswhich are operated mainly to supply gas to Brazil and Bolivia.
In the United Statesthe operations take place in fields in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico, with a 20% stake from Petrobras America Inc.forming the MPGoM joint venture with Murphy Exploration & Production Company.
Brazil
In Brazilin addition to the prolific pre-salt basins, on the Southeast coast, the company aims to exploratory efforts in the Equatorial Margina region on the north coast considered to have great potential, a kind of “new pre-salt”.
There is also great interest in Pelotas Basin, on the south coast. One factor that explains the interest in the Pelotas Basin are oil discoveries in Uruguay and in Africa itself – Namibia and South Africa. The two geographic coasts have similar physical characteristics.
Production and reserves
Last month, Petrobras reported that it reached rrecord oil production in 2025, reaching an average of 2.40 million barrels per day (bpd). The pre-salt accounted for 82% of the total.
Also in January, the Brazilian state-owned company reported that total oil and gas reserves reached 12.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) on December 31, 2025, 84% of which was oil and condensate and 16% natural gas.
Boe is a unit of measurement that standardizes the volume of natural gas and oil, converting the gas to the energy value equivalent to a barrel of crude oil. This way, it is possible to add up production.
The reserve replacement index (IRR) last year was 175%, that is, for every barrel produced, another 1.7 was discovered.
The relationship between proven reserves and production is 12.5 years, that is, if the production rate is maintained, current reserves are sufficient for just over 12 years.
