By LCN Business Desk
Two state-linked oil companies from opposite sides of the Atlantic put their names to a framework this week. Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, Mozambique's state hydrocarbons company, and Petroleo Brasileiro, Brazil's part-state oil company, signed a memorandum of understanding in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday 22 September, Club of Mozambique reported.
The signing took place on the sidelines of ROG.e 2026, an energy conference held in Rio from 21 to 24 September. The African Energy Chamber described the agreement as covering cooperation across the oil and gas value chain.
What does the memorandum cover?
| Term | What was agreed |
|---|---|
| Duration | Two years, extendable if both sides agree |
| Scope | Joint studies, assessment, development and commercialisation |
| Knowledge | Sharing of knowledge and exchange of technical expertise |
| Signed for Petrobras | Exploration and Production Director Sylvia Anjos, and Executive Exploration Manager Jonilton Pessoa |
| Signed for ENH | Chairman Rudencio Morais, and board member Alegria Cossa |
Source: Club of Mozambique and the African Energy Chamber, on the signing of 22 September 2026.
A memorandum of understanding is not a licence, a farm-in or a contract to drill. It is a framework that lets two companies look at things together and decide later. Upstream reported the deal in the same terms.
Why does a Mozambique deal matter in Georgetown?
Because it is the arrangement Guyana is not structured to make. Mozambique holds its acreage through a national company that takes an interest in every project and can sign in its own name. Guyana's petroleum is held by the state and operated through production sharing agreements with foreign companies. There is no Guyanese equivalent of ENH to sit across the table from Petrobras.
Petrobras is already in the Caribbean basin. It has made three gas discoveries in the sea off Colombia, reported in Petrobras Finds Gas Off Colombia.
What is Guyana building instead?
Power stations and a mineral inventory. The Ministry of Natural Resources has said the Wales site will carry 600 megawatts while the project under construction is 300, set out in The Resource Ministry Says Wales Will Carry 600 MW. The country is negotiating for a third powership, and what a unit of that electricity costs is worked out in What a Third Powership Would Cost Guyana.
On minerals, Guyana is still mapping what it has while its neighbours refine, reported in Chile, Argentina and Brazil Race to Refine Lithium. Brazil has been taking its industry abroad in other sectors too, including defence, in Brazil Took Five Defence Firms to Africa Last Week.
What happens next?
Mozambique's president has been presenting a new phase of the country's energy sector and seeking Brazilian partners. The memorandum gives both sides two years to find something worth doing. Whether it produces a project, and where, is what the two years are for.
What the title card shows
- Two years: the length of the memorandum, extendable if both companies agree. Source: Club of Mozambique.
- 22 September 2026: the signing date, on the sidelines of the ROG.e 2026 energy conference in Rio de Janeiro.
- Four signatories: two from Petrobras and two from Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, Mozambique's state hydrocarbons company.
- Whole value chain: studies, assessment, development, commercialisation and the exchange of technical expertise.
- No Guyanese counterpart: Guyana holds its petroleum through production sharing agreements and has no state oil company to sign in its own name.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Petrobras and ENH agree?
A memorandum of understanding creating a framework for collaboration across the oil and gas value chain, covering joint studies, assessment, development, commercialisation and the exchange of technical expertise. It runs for two years and can be extended.
Is this a drilling contract?
No. A memorandum of understanding commits both companies to look at opportunities together. It does not award acreage, licences or work.
Could Guyana sign something similar?
Not in the same form. Mozambique's Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos is a state company that holds interests and signs in its own name. Guyana's petroleum is held by the state and operated through production sharing agreements with foreign operators, so there is no national company to be the counterparty.