ANP’s 17th Bidding Round will generate investments of R$136 million

The 17th Bidding Round, held today (October 7th) by ANP, will generate investments of at least R$ 136,345,000.00 in the first years of the contracts for the five blocks acquired. The areas are located in two sectors of Santos Basin.  

The investments are the result of commitments made by the winning companies for the first phase of the contract, called exploration phase. These commitments, in the form of the Minimum Exploration Program (PEM), are one of the criteria for choosing the winners. The PEM goodwill, based on the minimum defined in the round's tender protocol, was of 37.76%. The signature bonus collected with the five blocks was R$ 37,140,000.52.  

The Director General of ANP, Rodolfo Saboia, highlighted the investments generated by the round, which, in his opinion, was successful.  

“It is important to remember that this round focused on new exploratory frontiers, that is, areas with a lot of risk for companies in the sector. And these companies set their budgets the year before. So they did this when the global pandemic situation was most acute. The context of the international oil industry is still quite challenging. With all this, there was not, and could not be, an expectation that all the blocks would be sold off. Each block acquired on a new frontier is a great victory because, in addition to investments, it represents the opening of new possibilities for future bidding rounds”, he said.  

Rodolfo Saboia also highlighted the potential of the areas auctioned today, in Santos Basin, which is a major producer in the pre-salt. “These blocks can also consolidate the post-salt layer in the region. And the blocks not auctioned will be part of the Open Acreage, with the exception of those located beyond 200 miles, which depend on authorization from the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE)”, he concluded.  

Se below the blocks acquired in the 17^th Round:  

*Operator 

The signing of the contracts is planned to occur by March 31, 2022. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was hybrid: the public session for presentation of offers was in person, with a reduced number of people (only those necessary for its realization and the representatives registered by the companies), and there was a live broadcast so that the public could follow the entire process over the internet. The event included all safety precautions, such as social distancing and mandatory use of face masks. 

The recording of the public session is available here.  

More information about the 17^th Round  

The 17^th Round offered 92 blocks, located in 11 high-potential and new frontier sectors of four Brazilian maritime sedimentary basins: Campos, Pelotas, Potiguar and Santos.  

The blocks were offered under the concession model, in which the winning companies or consortia are defined by two criteria: the signature bonus (80%) and the minimum exploration program – PEM (20%) offered by the bidders.  

The bonuses are the cash amounts offered by the companies, from a minimum defined in the tender protocol, and are paid by the winners before signing the contracts. The PEM, measured in work units (WUs), defines a minimum of activities that the company proposes to carry out in the block during the first phase of the contract (exploration phase), such as seismic, well drilling, etc.  

ANP's bidding rounds are carried out following the guidelines of the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) – which authorizes the bid and approves the areas to be offered, after studies made by ANP – and by the competent environmental agencies.  

Upcoming Round 

The rounds calendar also includes for this year the Second Transfer of Rights Surplus Bidding Round, on December 17. More information is available on the round’s page.