Petrobras and ExxonMobil has signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a strategic alliance to jointly identify and evaluate potential business opportunities.

The memorandum of understanding was signed in Rio de Janeiro today by Pedro Parente, president of Petrobras, Brad Corson, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Ventures, and Stephen Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company.

Petrobras and ExxonMobil will evaluate areas of mutual interest that can bring together their world-class experience across all sectors of the oil and gas production value chain, including opportunities for cooperation in exploration, production, gas and chemicals both inside and outside Brazil.

For Petrobras, the formation of alliances is an important strategy in the Business and Management Plan 2017-2021, bringing significant potential benefits, such as risk sharing, augmented investment capacity in the oil and gas chain, technology sharing and strengthening of corporate governance.

This agreement both exemplifies and reinforces ExxonMobil’s strategic relationship with Petrobras and continuing emphasis on growing this relationship and its business in Brazil, building on its more than 100 years in the country.

In September, Petrobras and ExxonMobil jointly acquired six offshore blocks in the Campos Basin in the Brazil National Agency of Petroleum’s 14th tender round.