Production Sharing Bidding Rounds for Pre-Salt 

The 1st Production Sharing Bidding Round was held by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) in 2013. The Libra Contract was offered, the first to be executed under production sharing regime.

The 2nd Round, held on October 27, 2017 by ANP, offered four areas with unitizable deposits, that is, adjacent to fields or prospects whose reservoirs extend beyond the granted area. The areas correspond to discoveries called Gato do Mato and Carcará and to the fields Tartaruga Verde and Sapinhoá.

The 3rd Round, held on October 27, 2017 by ANP, offered four areas locates in the Campos and Santos basis: Pau Brasil, Peroba, Alto de Cabo Frio Oeste and Alto de Cabo Frio Central. The Sul de Gato do Mato and Alto de Cabo Frio Oeste areas received bids with minimum oil surplus percentages. However, Tartaruga Verde Sudoeste (Campos Basin) and Pau Brasil (Santos Basin) did not receive bids.  The 2nd and 3rd rounds raised, in total, BRL 6.15 billion in signing bonus and registered average premium of 260% and 202%, respectively.

The 4th Production Sharing Round for Pre-Salt, held on June 7, 2018 by ANP, raised BRL 3.15 billion in signing bonus and will generate BRL 738 million in investments, only during the exploration phase. The average premium of the oil surplus offered in the 4th Round was 202.3%. Three out of the four blocks offered in the auction were sold: Uirapuru, Dois Irmãos and Três Marias.

The 5th Production Sharing Round for Pre-Salt, held on September 28, 2018 by ANP raised BRL 6.8 billion, with premium of 170.58%, against the oil surplus percentage, and generation of BRL 1 billion in investments planned for the exploration area in the coming years. In the Santos Basin, the Saturno Block was acquired by the Shell Brasil and Chevron Brasil consortium, with oil surplus percentage of 70.20%; the Titã Block was acquired by ExxonMobil Brasil and QPI Brasil, with oil surplus of 23.49%; and Pau Brasil was acquired by BP Energy, CNOOC Petroleum and Ecopetrol, with surplus of 63.79%. In the Campos Basin, the Tartaruga Verde Sudoeste Block was acquired by Petrobras, which maintained the minimum amount of oil surplus required in the round (10.01%).

The Onerous Assignment Surplus Bidding Round, held on November 6, 2019 by ANP sold two of the four areas offered – Búzios and Itapu -, generating a revenue of BRL 69.96 billion in signing bonus – a record revenue, which represents an amount higher than the sum of every bonus already offered in rounds in Brazil. Búzios was acquired by a consortium consisting of Petrobras (90%) and two Chinese companies: CNODC Brasil (5%) and CNOOC Petroleum (5%). The Itapu Field, on the other hand, will be explored exclusively by Petrobras. The Federal Government, represented by Pré-Sal Petróleo, will participate in the consortia of both areas, with oil profit percentages of 23.24% in Búzios; and 18.15% in Itapu.

In the 6th Production Sharing Round, held on November 7, 2019, Petrobras and CNODC acquired, as a consortium, the Aram block, with signing bonus of BRL 5.05 billion and oil surplus to the Federal Government of 29.96%. The estimated exploratory investment is of BRL 278 million.

The 2th Onerous Assignment Surplus Bidding Round, held on December 17, 2021, by ANP, had two blocks offered and acquired – Sépia and Atapu -, generating a revenue of BRL 11,14 billion in signing bonus. Sépia was acquired by a consortium between Petrobras (30%), TotalEnergies EP (28%), Petronas (21%) and QP Brasil (21%). Atapu will be explored by the consortium envolving Petrobras (52,5%), as the operator, Shell Brasil (25%) and TotalEnergies EP (22,25%). The Federal Government, represented by Pré-Sal Petróleo, will participate in the consortia of both areas, with oil profit percentages of 37,43% in Sépia; and 31,68% in Atapu.

The 1st Cycle of the Permanent Production Sharing Offer (OPP), held on December 16, 2022 by the ANP, saw four blocks auctioned, of the 11 on offer, generating revenue of BRL 916,252,000.00 in signature bonus (72% of the maximum possible). The Água Marinha, Norte de Brava, Bumerangue and Sudoeste de Sagitário blocks were auctioned.

The 2nd Cycle of the Permanent Production Sharing Offer (OPP), held on December 13, 2023, included the Tupinambá block by the company BP Energy. The percentage of oil offered to the Federal Government by BP was 6.5%, a premium of 33.2% in relation to the minimum established in the notice. In addition, BRL 7,047,000.00 in signing bonuses were raised and BRL 360 million in investments by the company are planned in the first phase of the contract (exploration phase).