By Brazil Stock Guide – Petrobras (PETR3, PETR4) will receive approximately $859 million from Shell (SHEL), TotalEnergies (TTE) and Petrogal following agreements to settle historical production costs and revenue allocations at two shared oil reservoirs in Brazil’s Santos Basin.
The Brazilian state-controlled oil producer said Tuesday, October 13, that the net payment is expected to be settled by November 2026. The agreements cover the Berbigão and Sururu reservoirs and related shared assets, according to a regulatory filing.
The transactions follow the implementation of Production Individualization Agreements, known as AIPs in Brazil, which establish the respective ownership interests of companies operating overlapping offshore oil deposits.
The financial settlement reflects adjustments to oil production revenues, capital investments, operating expenses and royalty payments based on the companies’ newly defined ownership stakes.
Petrobras Secures Settlement With Offshore Partners
The agreements were signed with partners in the BM-S-11A consortium, which includes Petrobras, Shell, TotalEnergies and Petrogal.
Under the original BM-S-11A concession, Petrobras holds a 42.5% interest and serves as operator. Shell owns 25%, TotalEnergies holds 22.5% and Petrogal controls the remaining 10%.
The shared reservoirs also extend into an area governed by Brazil’s transfer-of-rights framework, where Petrobras holds a 100% interest and operates the assets.
The overlapping contractual structures required adjustments to allocate production volumes, expenses and financial obligations according to each company’s proportional interest in the reservoirs.
The settlement follows a previous Petrobras announcement on May 4, 2026, concerning the implementation of the production individualization arrangements.
Ownership Stakes Adjusted in Berbigão and Sururu
Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, or ANP, approved the individualization agreements establishing the participating companies’ interests in each reservoir.
At Sururu, Petrobras holds a 45.394% interest, while Shell controls 23.742%, TotalEnergies owns 21.367% and Petrogal holds 9.497%.
The ownership structure at Berbigão gives Petrobras a larger position, with a 62.913% interest. Shell holds 16.125%, TotalEnergies owns 14.512% and Petrogal controls 6.450%.
The distribution reflects the integration of production rights across the original concession and the transfer-of-rights area.
Settlement Covers More Than 25 Years of Operations
The financial equalization covers the period from September 15, 2000, when the BM-S-11 concession agreement was signed, through April 30, 2026, immediately before the individualization agreements became effective.
The process reconciles revenues generated from oil production with capital expenditures, operating costs and petroleum royalties over the applicable contractual period.
The adjustments are designed to align the economic results attributable to each partner with the ownership interests formally established under the approved agreements.
Petrobras did not disclose the individual payment amounts owed by Shell, TotalEnergies and Petrogal.
The company also did not specify the accounting impact of the settlement or provide an exact payment date beyond its November 2026 deadline.
The approximately $859 million net receivable reflects the financial outcome of the equalization arrangements covering Berbigão, Sururu and their associated shared assets.
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