Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 2, 2026 (Lusa) - The Brazilian oil company Petrobras announced a new oil discovery at the Morpho exploration well, off the country's Amazonian coast, on Friday, where it had already identified hydrocarbons in August, though without revealing the exploration potential.
The new discovery was identified through «electrical logs, evidence observed in the rocks and fluid samples obtained during drilling», the company announced, without revealing the size of the oil-bearing zone or its potential for exploitation or commercialisation.
Petrobras noted that laboratory analyses are still ongoing and that the data obtained will be included with the rest of the information gathered during drilling to assess the oil systems and the resource potential of the basin.
Regarding the discovery announced in August, the Brazilian state-owned company stated in a press release cited by the Spanish news agency Efe that «the analyses already carried out confirm the good quality of the oil found».
According to Petrobras, following the new discovery, the company will complete drilling of the well and proceed with the evaluation of the identified formations.
The area where the Morpho well is located forms part of Brazil's controversial Equatorial Margin, the new frontier for oil exploration which the Brazilian oil company considers strategic for replenishing its oil and gas reserves and meeting the country's energy demand during the energy transition.
The well's proximity to the mouth of the Amazon is a cause for concern amongst environmentalists, who have warned of the potentially disastrous impact that an oil spill would have on ecosystems.
Despite these fears, in early September the Brazilian government authorised Petrobras to drill three more wells in the same area, located some 175 kilometres off the coast and 500 kilometres from the mouth of the Amazon River.
The oil company plans to invest $2.5 billion – around €2.2 billion – in the region between 2026 and 2030, representing Brazil's biggest push to increase its oil production over the coming decades, Efe reports.
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