Brazil makes 846 oil exploration blocks available

Brazil's National Agency for Oil, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) announced the areas for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas to be made available as part of a new, permanent-offer system. The move covers 846 blocks of 13 sedimentary basins, adding up to some 285,400 km².

Also offered are 15 areas with marginal accumulations in three land basins. The areas with marginal accumulations are located in the states of Espírito Santo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Bahia, ANP explained.

Permanent offer

The decision entails the continuous offer of oil fields that have been returned or are in the process of being returned, blocks not offered in previous bids, as well as blocks not acquired in previous rounds.

Further details regarding participation rules and technical and economic parameters, as well as when the offer is to be made, are expected to be unveiled by ANP by April next year.

ANP believes the move represents an important step towards the resumption of oil and gas exploration and production in Brazil. “The initiative of offering opportunities to companies of different types and sizes is part of a set of measures being implemented in a bid to promote the development of a diversified, dynamic, and competitive sector in all of Brazil's exploration environments: pre-salt, conventional sea, and land,” a note issued by the agency reads.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira