Bucket A, new discoveries and appraisal results, provides the context for Petrobras finding hydrocarbons in the Morpho frontier well off Amapá. The discovery is the first reported by the company in this area of Brazil’s Equatorial Margin. Drilling is continuing, and Petrobras has not yet disclosed the size or commercial potential of the accumulation.
Petrobras operates block FZA M 59 with a 100 percent stake after acquiring it in Brazil’s 11th bidding round in 2013. The Morpho well sits about 175 kilometers off Amapá in 2,886 meters of water. Electrical logs and rock indicators confirmed the hydrocarbon bearing interval.
The ODN II drillship, chartered from Foresea, arrived at the site in August 2025 after Petrobras secured an environmental license from Ibama. That approval followed the rejection of an earlier license application in May 2023 and further discussions with the regulator. Petrobras said operations remain in progress.
The result adds a new data point to Brazil’s effort to assess the frontier Equatorial Margin and supports Petrobras’s strategy of replenishing oil and gas reserves through exploration. It also follows the company’s recent gas discovery offshore Colombia. With no resource estimate or flow test reported, appraisal work will determine whether Morpho can support a commercial development.