Petrobras Bets on Pre-Salt and Secures Its Right of First Refusal in the 6th Bidding Round

The Company Must Still Submit Competitive Bids in November, In Some Petrobras May Take Over E&P Activities in Consortium or Alone

The Brazilian oil company Petrobras exercised preferential bidding rights in three of the five shared production areas available in the sixth pre-salt round, which will be held in November. By announcing its intention to bid in the Aram and Southwest Sagittarius areas in the Santos Basin, and in the North Brava region in the Campos Basin, Petrobras secures the right to take operational stakes in these areas, with at least 30% of the total equity.

Petrobras will still have to submit a competitive bid in these areas, either alone or as part of a consortium.

If a Competing Bidder Offers the Brazilian Government a Larger Share of Production Than That Bid by Petrobras, then the state-owned company retains the right – though not the obligation – to switch to the winning consortium, acquiring the statutory 30% equity stake in the process.

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Petrobras also retains the right to compete for the other two areas – prospects in the Santos Basin called Bumerangue and Cruzeiro do Sul, but it will do so on equal terms with the other competitors, whether as an operator or non-operator.

The Southwest Sagittarius and North Brava areas will likely require unitization with contiguous pre-salt discoveries in the BM-S-50 Block and the Marlim field fenced area, both operated by Petrobras.

The two areas will receive fixed signature bonuses of 500 million reais and 600 million reais respectively when auctioned in November.

Aram is located immediately west of the Carcara pre-salt, operated by Equinor, in the BM-S-8 Block, requiring a fixed signature bonus of 5.05 billion reais.

The Cruzeiro do Sul is surrounded by fields such as Lula, Sepia, Peroba, Pau Brasil, and Jupiter and will require a fixed signature bonus of 1.15 billion reais.

Bumerangue, located in the southern strip of the pre-salt channel, will be auctioned for 550 million reais.

The federal government’s minimum oil profit share will be 36.98% for North Brava, 26.09% for Southwest Sagittarius, 24.53% for Aram, 22.87% for Cruzeiro do Sul, and 26.68% for Bumerangue.

Local Content is Set at 18% for the Exploration Phase and Between 25% and 40% for the Production Development Phase for Aram and Bumerangue.

For Cruzeiro do Sul, Southwest Sagittarius, and North Brava, local content will correspond to the percentages required in their respective unitizable areas.