Second Transfer of Rights Surplus Bidding Round has both areas acquired

The Second Transfer of Rights Surplus Bidding Round, held today (December 17) by ANP, had both the areas on offer acquired: Sépia and Atapu. The total signature bonus collected was of R$ 11.14 billion. The percentages of profit oil for the Federal Government were 37.43% for Sepia and 31.68% for Atapu, corresponding to a goodwill of 149.20% and 437.86%, respectively.  

ANP’s Director General, Rodolfo Saboia, highlighted the results of the Round: “We had an extraordinary result for Brazil, which surpassed our expectations. The great news is that we were able to achieve competition, increasing the percentage of profit oil. With that, we guaranteed more resources that will be destined to the Brazilian society in the long term, through a much greater collection over the profit of the oil production resulting from the auction. I would also point out that there were five winning companies, which expands the diversity of the Brazilian pre-salt exploration and production scenario, bringing even more dynamism to the sector”, he said.  

As in all rounds under the production-sharing regime, in this one the signature bonuses (amount paid in cash by companies who acquire areas in the bid) were fixed and provided for in the tender protocol. 

Thus, the criterion for choosing the winning companies was the profit oil for the Federal Government. The tender protocol established a minimum percentage of profit oil, based on which the companies made their bids. 

The profit oil is the portion of oil and/or natural gas production to be shared between the Federal Government and the contractor, according to criteria defined in the contract and the percentage offered in the round. It is the total volume of production after deducting royalties and the cost oil (portion of the oil production corresponding to the company's operating costs and investments in the field). 

See below the results of the Bidding Round: 

                               *Operator    

The signing of the contracts is planned to occur by April 29, 2022. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was hybrid: the public bidding session was in person, with all the necessary safety precautions, and there was a live broadcast so that the public could follow the whole process over the internet. 

The recording of the public session is available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzTBQ7T43uA. 

What is the Transfer of Rights Surplus 

The Transfer of Rights Surplus is a regime in which the Brazilian Federal Government directly grants to Petrobras the rights of exploration and production of oil and natural gas in specific areas. Law No. 12,276/2010 granted the company the right to extract up to five billion barrels of oil equivalent in these areas, located in the pre-salt, according to a contract signed between the Federal Government and Petrobras.

Considering the subsequent discovery of volumes above the limit provided for in the contract (five billion barrels) in four oil fields (Búzios, Atapu, Itapu and Sépia), the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) authorized ANP to auction this surplus, in the production-sharing regime. 

The First Transfer of Rights Surplus Bidding Round took place in 2019, when the rights for exploration and production of the oil surplus in the four areas were auctioned, with Búzios and Itapu being acquired.