Petronas is among a growing list of international firms planning to participate in Brazil's forthcoming upstream offerings
On the sidelines of a Rio de Janeiro conference this week, a Petronas executive said the company is scouting globally for new upstream opportunities, and is particularly interested in the forthcoming post-salt and sub-salt rounds Brazil will launch later this year. The company is in talks with potential operating partners and is considering establishing an office in Brazil.
In 2013, Petronas abandoned a $850mn farm-in deal with troubled Brazilian independent OGX for stakes in shallow-water Campos basin blocks. The company had been signed up to participate in the 11th concession model round and the 1st sub-salt production-sharing round, both in 2013, but did not place bids.
German independent DEA Deutsche, Russia's state-owned Rosneft, Colombia's Ecopetrol and US major ExxonMobil are also on a long list of international firms evaluating offers in upcoming rounds, according to local executives.
Yesterday, oil regulator ANP provided technical details of the 287 onshore, shallow and deepwater blocks that will be offered in 27 September bid round. The round is the first including offshore acreage since a disappointing 13th round in 2015 and covers more than 70bn bls of unrisked in place reserves, according to the ANP.
The lion's share of reserves are located in shallow and deepwater blocks in the offshore Sergipe-Alagoas, Espirito Santo, Campos, Santos, and Pelotas basins.
The ten ultra-deepwater blocks on offer in the Campos basin, Brazil's largest oil-producer, are estimated to hold 16bn bls of in place reserves. Of those ten blocks, six have sub-salt potential, a major advantage for companies with an aversion to the production-sharing contracts that govern the sub-salt regions within the defined sub-salt polygon. Signing bonuses for the Campos basin blocks total around R164mn ($52.4mn), about 10pc of the total the round is expected to attract.
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