Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras said on Wednesday it won exclusivity to negotiate the purchase of nine offshore exploratory blocks located in Ivory Coast.
In a securities filing, Petrobras said the government conceded the exclusivity talks as the oil firm presented a declaration of interest in the assets.
The blocks are located in the western part of the national sedimentary basin, mostly in deep waters, according to the Ivory Coast Government.
Ivory Coast's Council of Ministers said in a statement that Petrobras, "will help to further develop the western margin of the country's sedimentary basin, which is still relatively unexploited," citing the firm's experience in deep waters.
Petrobras has recently shown interest in further investing in African oil assets to boost its future reserves.
"The evaluation of new areas aims to diversify the company's exploration portfolio with value generation," Petrobras said.
(Reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo and Loucoumane Coulibaly in Abidjan; additional reporting by Marta Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)