Three of four blocks taken in second round of pre-salt auction

Brazil's National Agency for Oil, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) awarded shared-production contracts for three of the four blocks in offer as part of the second round of pre-salt oil auctions, held late this Friday morning (Oct. 27). The blocks won totaled $1 billion in signature bonuses and an estimated $92.6 million in future investments.

The first block offered—Sudoeste de Tartaruga Verde, on the Campos basin—received no bids at first. The block was offered once again towards the end of the round, in observance of the rules released last week by ANP, but no bid was placed yet again.

Next, block Sul de Gato do Mato, on the Santos basin, was won by a consortium formed by Shell (80%) and Total E&P do Brasil (20%). The companies offered the minimum oil surplus percentage stipulated in the auction—11.53%.

Under the shared-production regime, in effect for the pre-salt auctions, oil surplus is the percentage offered by the companies to the federal government for production in the blocks. A minimum percentage is established in the auction, and the consortium with the highest bid wins.

As for Entorno de Sapinhoá, also in the Santos basin, two consortiums took part in the competition, both of which having Petrobras in their formation. The winner was a consortium in which the state-run oil giant had a share of 45%, plus 30% for Shell, and 25% for Repsol Sinopec, with a bid of 80% of the minimum surplus percentage. The premium stood at 673.69%.

In the Norte de Carcará block, the dispute was won by a consortium made up of Statoil (40%), ExxonMobil (40%), and Petrogal (20%), with 67.12% of surplus oil to be sent to the government. Shell was a lone bidder, but offered 50.46% of returnable oil. The premium offered in this case of 209.99%.

The auction raised a total $1.87 billion.

Third round

ANP is currently opening offers for the four oil exploration and production blocks in the so-called pre-salt polygon. The blocks in offer are located on the basins of Campos and Santos, including prospects in Pau Brasil, Peroba, Alto de Cabo Frio-Oeste, and Alto de Cabo Frio-Central.

The signature bonuses for the prospects in the third round total $1.36 billion. In this round, Petrobras availed itself of its preemptive rights to act as operator in two of the four blocks: Peroba and Alto de Cabo Frio Central.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira