Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) plans to make Africa its main exploration and development region outside Brazil, CEO Magda Chambriard told Reuters on Thursday, outlining a strategy that marks a major return to the continent.
Ivory Coast has already rolled out what Chambriard described as a “red carpet” for the company, after giving Petrobras priority rights on Wednesday to buy nine offshore exploration blocks in deep and ultra-deep waters off its coast.
She added that Nigeria, Angola and Namibia have also shown interest in working with the Brazilian oil giant.
“We are experts in the eastern margin of Brazil,” Chambriard said, pointing to the strong geological similarities between Brazil and Africa. “The correlation between Brazil and Africa is unequivocal, so we need to go to Africa.”
Petrobras has recently been looking to acquire stakes in oil assets overseas, particularly in Africa, as it seeks to grow its reserves while facing delays in securing environmental permits to drill new wells off the coast of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.
Alongside its African push, the company is also preparing to explore India’s coastline and plans to take part in an oil block auction scheduled for July, according to Chambriard.
The renewed focus on Africa represents a shift from previous years, when Petrobras sold off assets on the continent under earlier governments as part of a broader strategy to concentrate on high-productivity pre-salt fields in Brazil.
Chambriard said the company’s exploration plans are part of her effort to balance President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s goal of using Petrobras to stimulate economic growth with the need to deliver returns to investors, all while navigating a global environment of lower oil prices.
Petrobras, a key pillar of Brazil’s economy, is also at the center of internal tensions within Lula’s administration.
The government wants to use oil revenues to support growth, even as it seeks to position Brazil, host of the upcoming COP30 climate summit, as a leader in the global fight against climate change.
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At home, Petrobras’ plans to drill offshore in the Foz do Amazonas basin near the Amazon rainforest have been held up by environmental licensing issues.
Chambriard told Reuters she believes the company will complete the final step required to obtain a drilling permit in the second half of July.
In Africa, however, Petrobras has already begun to act. In 2023, it acquired a stake in an offshore oil field in South Africa. In early 2024, it also bought an interest in fields in São Tomé and Príncipe, where the company hopes to drill a well later this year, Chambriard said.
The company has not succeeded in all of its recent bids. Chambriard confirmed that Petrobras was outbid by France’s TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) for a stake in Galp Energia’s offshore Mopane discovery in Namibia.
“We hope to be invited” to help develop the Mopane field, she said, without giving further details.
Lower Brent crude prices are also shaping Petrobras’ broader strategy. Chambriard said the company is cutting costs and simplifying projects as it prepares its 2026–2030 strategic plan.
During the firm’s first-quarter earnings call last month, she had already signaled a shift toward austerity, a move that was welcomed by investors, though she did not specify whether the cost reductions would affect overall investment levels.
Any pullback in investment would mark a sharp change from the direction set when Lula returned to office in 2023 and encouraged Petrobras to spend more to support the economy.
Chambriard said Petrobras expects to expand its role in Brazil’s fertilizer sector, with plans to restart operations at two fertilizer plants in the states of Sergipe and Bahia by the end of the year.
She also confirmed a previous Reuters report that Petrobras is dissatisfied with the level of control it has over petrochemical company Braskem (BRKM5.SA).
Petrobras holds 47% of Braskem’s voting shares but has appointed only four of the company’s 11 board members and one of its seven directors, a level of influence it considers inadequate.
Petrobras does not want majority control of Braskem, Chambriard said, but is seeking changes to the shareholders’ agreement to gain more influence and “guarantee synergies.”
Calling Braskem a “very important asset,” she added, “from our current point of view, Braskem’s management is not what we want.”
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Image Credit: TheCable
