Petrobras and foreign companies buy blocks and will explore oil in the South

One day after the end of COP28, where Brazil released its energy transition plans to the world, the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) holds two auctions in exploratory oil and gas blocks in sensitive areas such as the Amazon and Fernando de Noronha, as well as the newest attraction on the market: the Pelotas Basin, in the south of the country.

The 4th Cycle of the Permanent Concession Offer (OPC) and the 2nd Cycle of the Permanent Production Sharing Offer (OPP) take place this Wednesday (13) in Rio de Janeiro.

The auction began with the marginal, i.e. inactive, area of ​​Japiim, in the Amazon Basin. It was won by the only bidder, the consortium formed by Eneva (80%) and Atem (20%). The planned investment is R$1.2 million.

The next basin was Pelotas, the most anticipated of this cycle since there was a significant discovery of oil and gas in Namibia, on the west coast of Africa. This is because, although they are more than 6 thousand kilometers away from each other, the two areas have similar geological characteristics, which fuels the expectation that the coast of Rio Grande do Sul also has great potential to be explored.

There are 12 sectors and 165 blocks in the Pelotas Basin. The first sector had ten blocks sold. Chevron won five of them. The Petrobras and Shell consortium took the four blocks for which it made an offer. And the consortium formed by Petrobras, Shell and CNOOC managed to win a block.

In total, the concession auction offers 33 exploratory sectors located in nine sedimentary basins: Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Paraná, Potiguar, Pelotas, Recôncavo, Santos, Sergipe-Alagoas and Tucano. In total, 21 companies presented declarations of interest and offer guarantees.

The auction is ongoing.

Study shows that some areas may suffer damage from exploitation

According to a study by the Arayara International Institute, 80% of the areas offered overlap in a priority area for conservation and 22 indigenous lands within the Amazon biome will be affected, among other risks to quilombola communities.

According to the report, which classified the 4th Cycle as “the auction of the end of the world”, one of the blocks offered is 2.4 km away from the area at risk due to Braskem’s rock salt mining in Maceió.

When bidding for exploration blocks under the concession regime, the winners are defined by two criteria: signature bonus (80%) and minimum exploration program (20%) offered by bidders.

There will also be a cycle of sharing offers with the Union

In the 2nd Cycle of the OPP, the following blocks are on offer, located in the Pre-Salt Polygon: Cruzeiro do Sul, Esmeralda, Jade, Tupinambá (Santos Basin) and Turmalina (Campos Basin).

Six companies are qualified to submit a proposal. In this model, pre-salt areas enter and whoever offers the most advantageous proposal to the Union for the oil surplus wins.