Brazil launches 13th upstream licensing round

OREANDA-NEWS. Brazil is offering 269 onshore and offshore blocks in its 13th licensing round, its first since competitor Mexico opened its doors to upstream investment.

The blocks lie in a mix of mature, new frontier and high potential basins, energy and mines minister Eduardo Braga said at an offshore conference today in Houston.

Regulator ANP will receive bids on 15 October.

"The 13th round will be a good opportunity to enter the country, if you are not already in Brazil. For companies that are already there, it is a good opportunity to increase their participation," Braga said.

He told conference delegates that a second licensing round for subsalt acreage in the Santos and Campos basins will be held in 2016-17.

Braga highlighted Brazil's offshore appeal, noting that 46pc of the global floating production and storage units and platforms are located in the country, while 40pc of the new FPSOs under construction will be deployed in Brazil over the next few years.

Brasilia faces stiff competition for upstream investment from Mexico, which launched a historic first licensing round in December. Deepwater acreage will be offered there later this year.

Brazil's new round is also the first since a major corruption scandal hobbled Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras, which is still struggling to shake off the financial and operational consequences.

In May 2013, Brazil offered around 240 shallow and deepwater blocks in an 11th round that ended a five-year bidding hiatus. This was followed in October 2013 by a first-ever sub-salt auction covering the 8bn-12bn bl Libra block the first to offer a production-sharing model, and a month later by the 12th round focused on onshore natural gas-prone acreage. No upstream acreage was offered in 2014.