Petrobras signed production-sharing contracts on Sept. 17 for eight offshore exploration blocks in Ivory Coast, taking a 90% stake in each; state-owned Petroci holds 10%. The deal targets reserve replacement, but the blocks aren't producing and bring no immediate revenue.
Petrobras has earmarked $7.1 billion for exploration over the next five years and plans to make Africa its main exploratory region outside Brazil. It will need to add about 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves through 2050 to maintain current production; output from its pre-salt fields is expected to peak around the middle of the next decade.
Even a commercially viable discovery would take years to develop before material production could begin. Petrobras' 90% stake also leaves it responsible for most exploration spending and execution risk.
