Brazil’s 15th Bidding Round raised over USD$2.4 billion – this sets a new record for Brazil’s auctions. According to the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency, the 15th round will generate investments of USD$361.6 million in the first/exploration phase of the concession contracts alone.
Brazil said that 22 offshore blocks were acquired out of the 47 offered. However, there were no offers for the onshore blocks in the round. In total, 13 companies, from 11 countries, participated in the offshore stage. Of these, 12 acquired blocks (two domestic and 10 foreign). The total area sold was 16,400.30 km².
Exxon pays USD$851 million for one block
Exxon Mobil Corporation (ticker: XOM) led the auction, adding about 640,000 net acres. With the new additions, the company’s total position in Brazil is now above two million net acres.
ExxonMobil and its partners jointly won a total of eight blocks:
- Two blocks in the Santos area, which ExxonMobil will operate with partner Qatar Petroleum
- Four blocks in the Campos area
- ExxonMobil will operate two blocks with partners Petrobras and Qatar Petroleum
- Petrobras will operate two blocks with partners ExxonMobil and Statoil
- Two blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas area, which ExxonMobil will operate with partners Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção (QGEP) and Murphy Oil Corporation
ExxonMobil (operator @ 40%), Petrobras (30%) and QPI Brasil (30%) will be partners on C-M-789, the most expensive block won at a record price of USD$851 million.
Chevron returns, partners up with Shell
Chevron Corporation (ticker: CVX) made its first Brazilian acquisitions in five years, buying up four blocks. Chevron’s most expensive purchase, the C-M-791 block in Campos, came in at USD$166 million. For this block, Royal Dutch Shell plc (ticker: RDS.A) will be the operator with 40% working interest, with Chevron at 40% WI and Petrogal Brasil at 20% WI.
Detailed results
| Basin | Sector | Block | Winning company/consortium | Signature bonus |
| Santos | SS-AUP1 | S-M-536 | ExxonMobil Brasil* (64%), QPI Brasil (36%) | R$ 165,000,000.00 |
| Santos | SS-AUP1 | S-M-647 | ExxonMobil Brasil* (64%), QPI Brasil (36%) | R$ 49,500,000.00 |
| Santos | SS-AUP1 | S-M-764 | Chevron Brazil* (40%), Wintershall Holding (20%), Repsol (40%) | R$ 131,930,768.13 |
| Potiguar | SPOT-AP1 | POT-M-762 | Petrobras* (100%) | R$ 5,134,684.33 |
| Potiguar | SPOT-AP2 | POT-M-857 | Wintershall Holding* (100%) | R$ 57,304,800.00 |
| Potiguar | SPOT-AP2 | POT-M-859 | Petrobras* (60%), Shell Brasil (40%) | R$ 13,494,981.55 |
| Potiguar | SPOT-AP2 | POT-M-863 | Wintershall Holding* (100%) | R$ 24,559,200.00 |
| Potiguar | SPOT-AP2 | POT-M-865 | Wintershall Holding* (100%) | R$ 16,372,800.00 |
| Potiguar | SPOT-AP2 | POT-M-948 | Shell Brasil* (100%) | R$ 1,963,358.55 |
| Potiguar | SPOT-AP2 | POT-M-952 | Petrobras* (60%), Shell Brasil (40%) | R$ 20,051,365.75 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-657 | Petrobras* (30%), Statoil Brasil O&G (30%), ExxonMobil Brasil (40%) | R$ 2,128,500,000.00 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-709 | Petrobras* (40%), Statoil Brasil O&G (20%), ExxonMobil Brasil (40%) | R$ 1,500,000,000.00 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-753 | ExxonMobil Brasil* (40%), Petrobras (30%), QPI Brasil (30%) | R$ 330,000,000.00 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-755 | BP Energy* (60%), Statoil Brasil O&G (40%) | R$ 43,361,000.00 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-789 | ExxonMobil Brasil* (40%), Petrobras (30%), QPI Brasil (30%) | R$ 2,824,800,000.00 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-791 | Shell Brasil* (40%), Petrogal Brasil (20%), Chevron Brazil (40%) | R$ 551,100,197.94 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-793 | BP Energy* (60%), Statoil Brasil O&G (40%) | R$ 43,361,000.00 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-821 | Repsol* (40%), Wintershall Holding (20%), Chevron Brazil (40%) | R$ 51,770,822.13 |
| Campos | SC-AP5 | C-M-823 | Repsol* (40%), Wintershall Holding (20%), Chevron Brazil (40%) | R$ 40,080,826.13 |
| Ceará | SCE-AP2 | CE-M-601 | Wintershall Holding (100%) | R$ 9,005,040.00 |
| Sergipe-Alagoas | SSEAL-AUP1 | SEAL-M-430 | ExxonMobil Brasil* (50%), Murphy (20%), Queiroz Galvão (30%) | R$ 3,630,430.00 |
| Sergipe-Alagoas | SSEAL-AUP2 | SEAL-M-573 | ExxonMobil Brasil* (50%), Murphy (20%), Queiroz Galvão (30%) | R$ 3,630,573.00 |
*Operator
Auction season – Mexico’s Shallow Water Auction, Round 3.1
Mexico also recently held an offshore auction, resulting in 16 contracts tendered to 12 bidders. The contracts represent an associated investment of approximately $8.6 billion dollars (across the contract period), the Mexican regulator reported.
The Mexican government will receive, on average, between 72% and 78% of profits generated under the tendered contracts. In addition, the government will receive a total of $124 million dollars as additional bonuses from the winning bids.
The prospective resources associated with the tendered contracts represent 513 million barrels of crude oil equivalent.
For more detail, please see the report of Mexico’s shallow water auction here.
