South American offshore oil and gas resources are facing a new round of competition, with energy companies from multiple countries competing on the same stage. CNOOC and Sinopec teamed up to break through and successfully won the Jade block in the Santos Basin of Brazil.

China wins oil and gas blocks

Recently, the Brazilian National Petroleum Administration completed the fourth round of permanent production sharing oil and gas bidding. The joint venture of CNOOC and Sinopec has won the Jade block in the Santos Basin, holding 70% and 30% of the shares, with a bid premium of 65.76%. This bidding has released 13 exploration blocks, including 5 in the Campos Basin and 8 in the Santos Basin, making it the largest round of block investment in Brazil's history of sub salt bidding.

A total of 7 blocks were signed this time, with a signing fee of 530.46 million Brazilian reals; The planned investment for the project is 778.42 million Brazilian reals, and the quoted prices for the completed blocks have all exceeded the reserve price. Except for the Jade block, two blocks in the Campos Basin were awarded to Prio, a Brazilian company; The Azurita block belongs to Petrobras. The remaining transaction blocks in the Santos Basin were won by Petrobras, Equinor of Norway, Equinor, and the Galp consortium of Portugal, with a highest premium of 494.64%.

The exploration map continues to expand

After the bidding landed, the exploration area of Brazil's production sharing model expanded by 58% to 39200 square kilometers. The winning block plan is to sign the contract on February 26, 2027; Six bidding blocks will be transferred to the next round of bidding. Brazil plans to launch more than 50 new exploration blocks in the Pelotas Basin within a few months, with superior geological conditions and considerable oil and gas potential. Compared to the third round of 2025 with only 5 blocks, the investment in salt resources in this round has significantly increased.

Opportunities for oil service going global are emerging

The continuous release of sub salt blocks in Brazil brings business opportunities for Chinese domestic oil service companies to go global, but also tests their project landing capabilities. The market will continue to track the development of the Jade block and the bidding dynamics of the Pelotas Basin.Editor/Gong Ziwei