Brazil's ANP awards seven pre-salt blocks in production-sharing auction
- Seven of 13 blocks on offer awarded
- Signature bonuses total $106 million (R$530,466,522.04)
- Most blocks of any sharing cycle, ANP says
What changed The ANP said the number of exploration blocks under the production-sharing regime went from 13 to 22.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 7 — Brazil's National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) awarded seven of the 13 blocks on offer in the pre-salt polygon on Oct 7 in the 4th Cycle of its Permanent Production-Sharing Offer (OPP), with Petrobras, Prio, Equinor and CNOOC among the winners.
The signature bonuses for the seven blocks totaled $106 million (R$530,466,522.04), the agency said. Under the OPP, the edital, or tender notice, sets these bonuses in advance. Minimum investments in the exploration phase of the contracts alone come to $155 million (R$778,426,200.00), according to the ANP.
The ANP said the cycle had the largest number of blocks awarded of any production-sharing cycle since the Permanent Offer began. The previous highest was five blocks in the 3rd Cycle, held in 2025.
Six companies made bids, and all six won blocks. Prio Forte S.A won Magnetita and Hematita, and Petrobras won Azurita. All three blocks are in the Campos basin. Petrobras also won Cruzeiro do Sul. A consortium of CNOOC Petroleum, with 70%, and Sinopec, with 30%, won Jade. Equinor Brasil won Rubi, and Equinor Brasil, with 70%, and Galp Energia Brasil won Rodocrosita.
Bidders compete on the share of "excedente em óleo", or profit oil, that goes to the federal government. Every winning bid exceeded the minimum set in the tender notice. The average premium was 108.38%, and Rodocrosita had the highest, at 494.64%, the agency said.
The ANP said the exploration area under the production-sharing regime will grow 58%, from 24,800 square km to 39,200 square km.
The winners must now submit documents and pay the signature bonuses. Contracts are expected to be signed by Feb. 26, 2027.