Petrobras Finds More Oil in Brazil’s Amazon Mouth Basin
ENERGY · BRAZIL
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, is a major oil producer. Its northern offshore frontier, the Equatorial Margin, lies near the Amazon and is fiercely contested.
- —What happened On 2 October 2026, Petrobras reported a second oil-bearing interval in its Morpho well, block FZA-M-59, in 2,886 metres of water off Amapá state.
- —The numbers The well lies about 175 km off Amapá, Agência Brasil reported on 2 October. A government planning study puts the basin’s recoverable potential at up to 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
- —What it means for you This is a geological result, not a production decision. As of 2 October, Petrobras had declared no volumes and no commercial value for either find.
- —Still open Laboratory results on the new interval, whether the well is commercial, and a federal appeals court ruling on prosecutors’ request to suspend the drilling licence.
Petrobras has made a second oil discovery at its Morpho well in the Amazon Mouth Basin, off Brazil’s northern state of Amapá. The state-controlled oil company announced the find on Friday, 2 October 2026.
Drilling went deeper after a first strike in mid-August and reached another oil-bearing interval. Petrobras has not said how much oil the well holds or whether it is commercial.
What Petrobras Found
The well, registered as 1-BRSA-1405-APS, sits in block FZA-M-59 in 2,886 metres of water. Agência Brasil, the state news agency, places it 175 km off the Amapá coast.
Petrobras said the new interval was identified through electric logs, signs in rock and fluid samples. The material will now go through laboratory analysis.
For the August find, the company said tests had already confirmed good-quality oil. That first result is covered in Petrobras Finds Oil on Brazil’s Equatorial Margin, off the Amapá Coast.
Petrobras will finish drilling the well and keep evaluating the formations it found. It said the work will be done safely and with respect for the environment and people.
Why the Amazon Mouth Basin Matters
The basin is part of the Equatorial Margin, which runs along Brazil’s northern coast. Large finds in neighbouring Guyana and Suriname have raised hopes for the same geology.
A study by EPE, the energy ministry’s planning agency, estimates recoverable potential of up to 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Brazil ended 2025 with about 70 billion barrels of proved, probable and possible oil reserves, according to the regulator ANP.
Petrobras says the block fits its strategy of replacing reserves through new frontiers. Agência Brasil notes that pre-salt reserves in the southeast are expected to decline next decade without new finds.
Despite the name, the site lies about 540 km from the river mouth itself, chief executive Magda Chambriard has said. She was due to brief reporters in Rio de Janeiro at 15:00 local time on Friday.
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The Legal Challenge Continues
Ibama, the federal environment agency, licensed the drilling in October 2025. In September it cleared three more wells in the same block, as reported in Ibama Clears Three More Petrobras Wells in Foz do Amazonas.
Federal prosecutors, known as the MPF, still want the work halted. On 28 September they again asked the TRF1 regional federal appeals court to stop all drilling in the block. An earlier request is covered in Brazil Prosecutors Seek Halt to Petrobras Drilling Off Amazon Coast.
Their appeal targets a 23 September ruling by a federal judge in Amapá. He dismissed their lawsuit, citing two similar pending cases, and fined them for bad-faith litigation.
Prosecutors cite a spill of more than 18,000 litres of drilling fluid from a rig in January. They also argue that expanding from one well to four, with work until 2029, needs new studies.
Petrobras says its studies found no direct social or environmental impact. The licence stays in force unless a court suspends it.
What Is Not Yet Known
Petrobras has not published volumes, flow rates or a commercial assessment for either interval. No date has been given for the laboratory results.
No ruling on the prosecutors’ latest appeal had been reported by 2 October. Petrobras has also not set out a public timetable for the three further wells.
Sources: Agência Petrobras, discovery release and press-conference notice, 2 October 2026; Agência Brasil, 2 October 2026 (EPE estimate, ANP reserve data) and 29 September 2026 (MPF appeal to the TRF1).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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