MONTREAL (Oil Monster): Brazil's Pelotas Basin may contain approximately 1 trillion cubic meters of recoverable natural gas and 3.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to a new preliminary assessment by the country's Energy Research Office, or EPE.
The estimate places the largely unexplored offshore basin among Brazil's potentially significant future oil and gas exploration areas, although EPE cautioned that the figures represent undiscovered resource potential rather than proven reserves or confirmed discoveries.
The figures are contained in EPE's newly released study, Volumetric Estimate of the Pelotas Basin, which evaluates the basin using currently available geological, geophysical and well data.
The agency estimates approximately 17.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent of hydrocarbons in place across the basin.
After applying recovery assumptions, the study estimates approximately 9.7 billion boe could be recoverable, including 3.4 billion barrels of oil and about 1,006.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
EPE identified 80 exploration leads both inside and outside areas currently covered by concession contracts.
EPE stressed that the figures should not be interpreted as discovered reserves.
The assessment represents a preliminary estimate of undiscovered oil and gas potential based on the geological and geophysical information currently available.
The agency said the results carry a high degree of uncertainty consistent with the early exploration stage of the basin and are intended to indicate the possible order of magnitude of its petroleum potential.
The estimates could change significantly as additional seismic information, geological studies and future drilling provide more direct evidence about the subsurface.
Interest in the Pelotas Basin has increased following major deepwater oil discoveries on the opposite side of the South Atlantic off Namibia.
The Brazilian basin shares geological characteristics with its conjugate African margin, which formed as South America and Africa separated during the breakup of Gondwana and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.
EPE estimates that the corresponding Namibian margin contains about 18 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place, broadly comparable with the 17.9 billion boe estimated for Pelotas.
Exploration on the Namibian side has resulted in 14 declared discoveries, while first oil from the Venus development is expected around 2030.
The contrast between Namibia's recent exploration activity and Brazil's side of the Atlantic margin is substantial.
No exploration well has been drilled in the Pelotas Basin since 2001, according to EPE.
The lack of recent drilling means the basin's potential remains largely untested despite advances in seismic interpretation and the growing geological evidence from the conjugate margin in Africa.
EPE said the discoveries offshore Namibia reinforce the importance of determining whether similar petroleum systems and reservoir characteristics are present on the Brazilian side.
ALSO READ:
Petrobras, Shell and Exxon Secured Oil and Gas Blocks in Latest Bidding Round
Industry interest in the basin has already begun to increase.
In Brazil's 2025 oil and gas bidding round, Petrobras and Petrogal secured exploration rights to three blocks in the Pelotas Basin as part of the country's broader effort to open new offshore exploration areas.
The new EPE study provides additional technical context for companies evaluating acreage in one of Brazil's less explored offshore regions.
EPE's assessment draws on a broad technical review of the basin.
The agency examined information from nine offshore exploration wells and interpreted more than 4,500 two-dimensional seismic lines covering more than 80,000 kilometers.
The analysis included geological modeling, seismic interpretation and assessment of potential petroleum-system elements across sedimentary intervals ranging from the Cretaceous to the Neogene.
EPE said Cretaceous exploration plays, particularly those located close to potential source rocks, showed comparatively stronger prospectivity in its assessment.
The Pelotas Basin lies along Brazil's southern Atlantic margin near the border with Uruguay.
It extends along the entire coastline of Rio Grande do Sul and part of Santa Catarina.
The basin developed during the opening of the Atlantic Ocean following the breakup of Gondwana roughly 200 million to 145 million years ago, giving it geological links to sedimentary basins on the west coast of Africa.
The EPE estimates strengthen the technical case for further study of the Pelotas Basin, but confirming the presence, size and commercial viability of hydrocarbons will ultimately require new exploration drilling.
Until wells are drilled and discoveries are appraised, the estimated volumes should remain classified as preliminary exploration potential rather than proven or probable reserves.
Petrobras, Shell and Exxon Secured Oil and Gas Blocks in Latest Bidding Round
Brazil Oil and Gas Production in 2025 Hits Historic Record
BP's Big Brazil Oil and Gas Find Boosts Prospects for Equinor, Auction
Sources: Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE); Brazil Energy Insight.
