Page 12 - LatAmOil Week 48 2021

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Petrobras claims all four oil supply

contracts in latest PPSA auction

BRAZIL’S national oil company (NOC) Petro- stake in the Mero field as well as a 5% interest in
bras outpaced all competitors at the latest round the Buzios field.
of auctions by Pré-sal Petróleo SA (PPSA), The other contracts won by Petrobras were a
which represents the government in produc- five-year contract covering 2.4mn barrels of Sap-
tion-sharing contracts (PSCs) covering 17 off- inhoa with a specific gravity of 30 degrees API,
shore fields in the pre-salt zone. According to awarded for a premium of BRL7.35 ($1.31) per
press reports, Petrobras won all four of the crude cubic metre, and a five-year contract for 3.3mn
oil supply contracts offered on the day. bl of Tupi with a specific gravity of 28 degrees
Following multiple bidding rounds, Petro- API, which drew an offer of BRL3.35 ($0.59) per
bras managed to outbid a state-owned Chinese cubic metre.
company – CNPC Exploration & Development Petrobras was also facing competition from
Co. (CNODC), which is 50% owned by China the French multinational TotalEnergies, which
National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and 50% placed bids on all four contracts.
owned by CNPC’s main upstream subsidiary The contracts that Petrobras won at the auc-
PetroChina – for the largest lot of the day. This tion will enable the state-controlled company
lot included a three-year contract for the sup- to market over 55mn barrels of crude sourced
ply of 43.4mn barrels of Mero crude with a spe- from the Buzios, Mero, Spinhoa and Tupi fields,
cific gravity of 29 degrees API. The NOC won where it is already serving as operator.
the contract after offering a premium of BRL52 Since 2018, PPSA has earned BRL1.9bn
($9.23) per cubic metre. ($337.4mn) from oil sales through similar auc-
Petrobras also beat CNODC in the contest tions. It held two supply auctions in 2018, but
for a three-year contract covering 6.6mn bar- neither event attracted as much attention or
rels of Buzios crude with a specific gravity of competition as its latest auction.
28 degrees API. It offered a premium of BRL65 By the end of 2031, PPSA is projected to see
($11.54) per cubic metre. sales rise to $116bn by 2031. Its 17 offshore fields
These two losses represent a significant dis- are on track to boost output to 3.48mn barrels
appointment for CNODC, which holds a 10% per day (bpd) over the same period. ™

PPSA represents the Brazilian government’s interests in the “pre-salt polygon” (Photo: PPSA)

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 48 02•December•2021