(Bloomberg) – Brazil’s oil regulator is set to grant exploration rights in a promising offshore region where state-controlled oil producer Petrobras has faced a years-long dispute with environmental authorities to start drilling.
An auction taking place June 17 will include areas in five sedimentary basins, including the Potiguar and the Foz do Amazonas, in deepwater near the equator, regulator ANP confirmed Monday. Both areas are in the wider region known as the Equatorial Margin, where the oil industry sees the best chances for Brazil to replenish oil reserves that otherwise will start declining in the 2030s.
Brazil will offer 173 oil blocks that span areas on land to deepwater regions in northeastern and southern Brazil under concession contracts. A total of 47 are at the Foz do Amazonas, where Petrobras is appealing to drill its first well after having its exploration campaign blocked in 2023. Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry says that basin could contain oil fields similar to those discovered in Suriname and Guyana, where Exxon Mobil Corp. found billions of barrels.
See also: Petrobras seeks approval for disputed offshore exploration project
“The lack of authorization for Petrobras to drill in the Foz do Amazonas basin brings uncertainty and certainly affects the attractiveness of the auction,” said Rivaldo Moreira Neto, a director at A&M Infra consultancy.
The areas offered in the Potiguar basin are at risk of being left out of future rounds if they are not granted in June. That’s because a joint statement from Brazil’s environment minister and mines and energy minister that allows the social and environmentally sensitive areas to be offered is set to expire.
Brazil’s oil regulator also will be offering exploration acreage in the Pelotas basin, in southern Brazil, viewed as geologically similar to Namibia where European oil majors had made huge discoveries.
In 2023 a Petrobras and Shell consortium won dozens of blocks there that are still to be explored. There will also be areas offered in the Parecis basin, the only on land, and Santos basin, known for the big pre-salt offshore discoveries made in 2000s.
According to the ANP, 31 companies are registered and able to bid, including Petrobras, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, Equinor and BP.
