CNOOC, a Chinese production company operating in the pre-salt layer, won the direct sale process carried out by Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) this Wednesday (21), to sell the Federal Government’s third oil cargo of 500,000 barrels from Atapu’s production sharing contract. The cargo will be available for shipment in April.

All companies already operating in the pre-salt layer were invited to participate, in addition to PRIO and the Mataripe Refinery. Five companies submitted bids: CNOOC, Galp, Petrobras, Mataripe Refinery and Equinor. All price offers were opened in real time during a meeting held through the Teams platform between PPSA and representatives of the bidding companies, This is the first time that CNOOC has purchased a cargo from the Federal Government. The company is a party in the sharing contracts for Búzios, Pau-Brasil, Libra and Alto de Cabo Frio Oeste.

For the first time, PPSA sold cargoes based on the Brent price. Until then, sales were made based on the reference price established by the National Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP). It was the most competitive sale held by the Federal Government, with the largest number of bidding companies.

Galp Energia Brasil and Petrobras won the two Sépia cargoes sold, respectively, in August 2022 and July 2023.