The auction of seven oil exploration blocks in the pre-salt region on the Southeast coast ended this Wednesday (22), with five areas auctioned and R$452 million in contracted investments. 
The average surplus oil premium (profit sharing) shared with the Union was 91.20%. In one of the blocks, the overprice reached 251.63%.
The public session of the 3rd Cycle of the Permanent Production Sharing Offer (OPP) was held at the headquarters of the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP), in Rio de Janeiro.
The ANP, the country’s oil industry regulatory body, has placed seven areas in dispute in the so-called pre-salt polygon, the country’s main oil frontier. The fields are located in the Campos and Santos Basins.
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Future Earnings
The total signing bonus reached R$103.7 million. In the sharing regime – an auction model valid for pre-salt areas – the criterion for choosing the winning company or consortium is not the value of the bonus, already fixed in the notice, but rather the highest percentage of surplus oil delivered to the Union. By surplus oil, one can understand the profit from production after payment of costs.
Of the 15 qualified companies, eight submitted bids, and five were successful. The highlight was Petrobras and the Norwegian Equinor, the biggest winners, each with two areas won. In one of them, they even form the exploring consortium.
The general director of the ANP, Artur Watt Neto, classified the OPP as “a success”. He emphasized that the result of the auction cannot be measured solely by the value of the signing bonus, which he considered “substantial”.
“Our focus is always on the investments that we can secure and, in the future, the collection, job creation and, obviously, the collection of oil from the Union, without forgetting the collection of royalties, which under the sharing regime is 15%”, he stated.
Winners
Petrobras purchased two blocks. At Citrino, in the Campos Basin, it will be the operator with 100% participation. The state-owned company offered an excess portion of oil of 31.19%, which represents a premium of 251.63% in relation to the minimum foreseen in the notice.
In the Jaspe field, also in the Campos Basin, Petrobras will work in a consortium with the Norwegian Equinor. The Brazilian company will hold a 60% stake. The surplus offered by companies to the Union is 32.85%, a premium of 96.47%.
Equinor alone took over the Itaimbezinho field, with a surplus offered of 6.95%, with the lowest premium of the competition: 4.2%.
The Ametista field, in the Santos Basin, will be explored by a consortium of two Chinese companies, CNOOC Petroleum (70%) and Sinopec (30%). The portion of surplus shared with the Union will be 9%, a premium of 40.41%.
Australian oil company Karoon will be the sole operator of the Esmeralda field, in the Santos Basin. The surplus delivered to the Union was 14.1%, representing a premium of 33.78%.
Two of the winners, Karoon and Sinopec, are newcomers to the sharing regime (applied in the pre-salt) in Brazil.
Only Campos Citrino and Jaspe had a dispute, that is, they received more than one proposal.
No proposal
The Larimar and Ônix blocks, both in the Campos Basin, did not receive proposals and will be re-offered in the next OPP.
According to the general director of the ANP, one of the factors that may explain the lack of competition for the fields is the current situation in the oil industry.
“The moment in the oil sector fluctuates, we are in a moment of low oil prices. [preço do] oil, international elements that we don’t control”, he pondered.
The situation of Larimar and Ônix is similar to that of Itaimbezinho, which had remained on the “shelf”, as it had not been sold at a previous auction.
Corporate appetite
When commenting on the companies’ appetite, demonstrated by the premium exceeding 90%, the director general of the ANP ruled out the government’s underestimation of the oil companies’ interest.
“It is a market dynamic, and our calculations to offer the minimum percentages are very technical, but within a geological view and within the vision of guaranteeing investment, of enabling that block to receive offers”, he explained.
“Companies analyze geological data and each one will have their own vision of what fits there, what they can have, what they can offer to still be advantageous for them,” he said..
ANP director Symone Araújo, who served as OPP rapporteur, highlighted the importance of the auction for the development of the national oil industry.
“We believe we have reached an important milestone in advancing our exploratory frontiers. We have new players (companies) that were brought. The Amethyst and Citrine blocks are important exploration edges that increase our reserves”, he defined.
How the OPP works
The signing of the contracts is expected to take place by May 29, 2026.
OPPs are the means by which the government offers companies exploratory blocks in the pre-salt polygon ─ where the largest known oil reserves in the country are located ─ and in other areas considered strategic by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE), a multi-ministerial advisory body to the Presidency of the Republic.
Under the sharing regime, the Union’s interests are represented by the state-owned company Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA), headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME). It is PPSA that auctions the oil delivered by oil companies to the Union.
Next auction
The ANP believes that the 4th OPP Cycle should take place next year, with up to 26 blocks in the pre-salt polygon. General director Artur Watt defended that auctions take place at least once a year, whether in the sharing or concession model (areas that exclude the pre-salt).
“It is important for the industry to always have the possibility of auctioning blocks so that we can continue exploratory activities”, he states. “If we have two, like this year, even better”, he added.
In June this year, the ANP carried out the 5th Cycle of the Permanent Concession Offer (OPC)in which 34 blocks were purchased, 19 of which were in Foz do Amazonas, one of the areas on the Equatorial Margin, considered a new exploration frontier in the country.
This week, Petrobras obtained a license from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) to begin drilling in the Foz do Amazonas sedimentary basin.
