By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s oil regulator approved the inclusion of 17 additional exploratory blocks in the country’s permanent production-sharing offer, lifting the total number of areas expected to be auctioned this year to 25, according to a decision taken on Monday (26).
The move was approved by the board of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, known as ANP. Of the 25 blocks now listed in the draft tender, only nine currently have favorable environmental viability opinions issued by the relevant authorities, a key requirement ahead of any auction.
Fernando Moura, the ANP director who served as rapporteur for the process, said that among the 17 newly added blocks, only one has received a joint statement from the ministries of Mines and Energy and the Environment. “Without these documents, these exploratory blocks will be removed from the tender,” Moura said.
He added that another block was excluded from the auction scheduled for this year because it partially extends beyond Brazil’s territorial limits. According to Moura, including that area would require a substantial revision of the tender rules and the creation of new regulatory parameters, which could delay the process. “The objective is to offer this block at a later stage, once specific rules are validated, without compromising the current process,” he said.
Moura also stated that a formal public consultation will not be required. Instead, the ANP will hold a public hearing to ensure transparency. “The next step will be to submit the draft tender to the Ministry of Mines and Energy for review, followed by the public hearing organized by the ANP,” he said.
The updated version of the tender also revises the technical and economic parameters of the blocks on offer. Other rules established in the previous edition of the document, as well as the draft production-sharing contracts, will remain unchanged, Moura said.
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