Brazil has significantly expanded the area available for potential future oil and gas exploration along its Equatorial Margin, with regulator ANP defining 501 new offshore blocks covering around 380,000 sq km.
The blocks fall within 11 new exploration sectors across the Foz do Amazonas, Pará-Maranhão, Barreirinhas, Ceará, and Potiguar basins.
All the acreage is in water depths of more than 3,000 m and has been classified by ANP as a new exploration frontier.
The move follows the extension of Brazil’s continental shelf after the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf recognised the country’s claim in March 2025.ANP has stressed that the decision does not mean the 501 blocks will automatically enter Brazil’s Permanent Offer licensing system.
Individual areas will require further technical and regulatory reviews before they can be put forward for bidding. The new acreage also has no effect on existing exploration contracts.
The regulator said its socio-environmental assessment considered protected areas and found no overlaps or proximity issues that would prevent the proposed sectors from being established.ANP has also adjusted the boundaries of three existing sectors in the Foz do Amazonas and Pará-Maranhão areas following the expansion of the continental shelf.
The decision came on the same day Petrobras announced another oil discovery at its Morpho exploration well in the Foz do Amazonas basin. The Brazilian giant encountered another oil-bearing interval while drilling deeper sections of the well, following an initial hydrocarbon discovery announced in August.
The Brazilian state-controlled company has made the Equatorial Margin a major part of its exploration programme as it looks to replace reserves over the coming decade. Its 2026-2030 plan calls for 15 exploration wells along the Equatorial Margin, accounting for more than a third of the 40 wells included in its overall exploration programme.
ANP separately approved 86 Equatorial Margin blocks in June for possible inclusion in future licensing cycles. Those areas remain subject to environmental and other regulatory approvals before they can be offered to oil companies.
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