Petrobras finds oil a third time in Morpho well

Petrobras announced a third oil-bearing interval in the Morpho exploration well in block FZA-M-59 in the Foz do Amazonas basin on Thursday, as drilling concluded, with no recoverable volume estimate or commerciality decision yet.

Why it matters: The Morpho well is the test case for Brazil's Equatorial Margin, the frontier Petrobras is counting on to replace its reserves as the pre-salt matures, and each added interval strengthens the geological case without yet proving a commercial field.

Data as of Petrobras announcement of Thursday, October 29, 2026, as reported by Brazil Stock Guide and Folha de S.Paulo, in Portuguese, both read in full in this run, and by Reuters via TradingView. The figures and the drilling status are the company's own. Update 2026-10-29T18:39:04-04:00 adds Folha's reporting on the planned appraisal wells. Developing item.

Petrobras said on Thursday that it had identified a third oil-bearing interval in the Morpho exploration well, in block FZA-M-59 in the Foz do Amazonas basin off Amapá, in ultra-deep water 2,886 metres deep. The three finds are separate intervals in a single well, following discoveries announced in August and at the start of October, not three separate fields. Drilling and geological data acquisition at Morpho are complete, and the company will now carry out the final well abandonment operations, a standard technical step. The rig moves next to the Potiguar basin off Rio Grande do Norte, to drill the Mãe de Ouro exploration prospect. Petrobras has published no estimate of recoverable volumes and has not declared the discoveries commercial.

President Magda Chambriard said the three discoveries in a single well left the company more optimistic about the Equatorial Margin’s exploration potential, Folha de S.Paulo reported. Judging commerciality in the Foz do Amazonas depends on new wells: Petrobras plans three more, already approved by the environmental regulator Ibama.

Petrobras finds oil a third time in Morpho well

Sources