Fossil Energy – Brazil
Brazil approved a record number of 118 contract transfers for exploration and production (E&P) in 2021, according to a report by the local oil and gas watchdog ANP.
The number is almost double the 66 cases recorded in 2020.
The results were mainly driven by Petrobras’ divestments of assets in onshore and shallow-water mature fields, and by improved efficiency and agility in the regulator’s analysis of contract assignment requests, which took an average of 53 days.
Included in the list are the Cricaré Espírito Santo basin hub, sold to Karavan Oil/Seacrest; the Rio Ventura hub in the Recôncavo basin, sold to 3R Petroleum; the Miranga and Remanso hubs in the same basin, sold to PetroRecôncavo; the Dó-Ré-Mi and Rabo Branco fields in the Sergipe basin, sold to Centro Oeste Óleo e Gás and Petrom, respectively; and the transfer of Petrobras’ remaining 10% stake in the Lapa field to TotalEnergies.
The ANP report also outlines other highlights of 2021, including:
– The realization of the 17th bidding round, where five exploration blocks were contracted, generating 37mn reais (US$7.1mn) in signature bonuses and over 136mn reais in investment commitments;
– The promotion of the second transfer of rights tender, resulting in 11.1bn reais in signature bonuses for surplus volumes from Atapu and Sépia;
– The signing of 35 concession contracts (17 for the first cycle and 18 for the second cycle of ANP’s open acreage program) for blocks and areas with marginal accumulations awarded by small, medium-sized and large companies; and
– The opening of the third open acreage cycle, the bidding session for which will be held on April 13.
In addition, Petrobras extended the deadline for the pre-qualification process for companies to supply new FPSOs under the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) regime, with a capacity for 180,000 bpd and 7 million m³/day of gas. The new date, set for March 18, should not be postponed again.
The oil company does not specify the destination of future production units, but it seems that the new FPSOs will be directed to the Atapu and Sépia projects, acquired in the 2nd round of the transfer of rights surplus, at the end of 2021.
The oil company excluded Modec from the current list. In all, 14 names are pre-qualified at the moment, and the list involves 12 groups. The name of the Japanese group was part of the listing, although the company was blocked from participating in the bids for a year, since April 2021.
