Page 15 - LatAmOil Week 49

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Brazil sells just one offshore

block in latest bidding round

BRAZIL sold just one offshore block in its latest Albuquerque and other officials also pointed
oil and gas bidding round, prompting a govern- to possible silver linings, saying that even
ment review of the country’s current licensing though bidding in the country’s second offshore
regime. open acreage auction had been minimal, several
The auction, which was carried out by Brazil’s new players had joined the auctions. Addition-
National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and ally, they noted that acreage had been acquired
Biofuels (ANP), took place on December 4. The in areas that have never before been explored.
only company to participate in the contest was Moreover, they said, signing bonuses were
Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands), which higher, reaching $10.9mn. This is more than
acquired a 100% stake in the C-M-757 block twice the sum of $4.3mn collected in the first
in the Campos Basin, paying a $2.3mn signing open acreage auction, which was held in Sep-
bonus. tember 2019.
The winning bid is good news for Shell, The Brazilian officials also reported that
which acquired two blocks situated directly to interest in onshore bidding had been relatively
the north of C-M-757 in a separate licensing strong. The auctions allowed Eneva, a local firm,
round held last month. The Anglo-Dutch major to consolidate its positions in the Amazonas,
now has stakes in 23 exploration blocks in Bra- Parana and Solimoes basins, they said. They
zil, as well as 14 fields in production and one also reported that Enauta, another Brazilian
under development. independent, had joined forces with Eneva to
“Today’s auction once again demonstrates take a 30% minority stake in four blocks in the
the continuity of our investments in Brazil, a Parana Basin. ™
country that [accounts] for about 13% of the
company’s total global oil and gas production,”
the CEO of Shell Brasil, Andre Araujo, said in
a statement. “This new block will consolidate
our extensive portfolio in Brazil, where we have
acted as operators since the start of the 2000s.”
At the same time, the low level of interest
in the auctions is not good news for Brazil.
According to Mining and Energy Minister
Bento Albuquerque, the lack of competition
for the 35 offshore blocks on offer means there
must be a review of Brazil’s licensing terms. The
National Congress is already debating changes
to the country’s production-sharing regime and
plans to implement additional reforms in 2021,
he stated.
“The analysis starts now,” Albuquerque was
quoted as saying by S&P Global Platts. The C-M-757 block lies within the Campos basin (Image: ANP)

Petrobras receives binding

offers for three refineries

BRAZIL’S state-run oil and gas firm Petro- Lubrificantes e Derivados de Petróleo do Nord-
bras has received binding offers for three of its este (LUBNOR) in Ceara State and the Unidade
refineries. de Industrialização do Xisto (SIX) in Parana
The downstream assets in question are the State. The firm has not yet disclosed which com-
Isaac Sabbá (REMAN) plant in Amazonas State, panies placed the offers.

Week 49 10•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15