Brazil: ExxonMobil Secures Three Additional Offshore Blocks In Bidding Round

US oil and gas major, ExxonMobil has won three offshore exploration blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin as part of Brazil’s first permanent bidding round Offshoreenergytoday.com has reported.

As part of the first cycle of the permanent round, the country’s regulator, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), auctioned 33 blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas, Parnaíba, Potiguar and Recôncavo basins, and 12 areas with marginal accumulations in the Potiguar, Sergipe-Alagoas, Recôncavo and Espírito Santo basins.

For exploration blocks, the total bonus collected was R$ 15.32 million ($3.8m) with a forecast of R$ 309.8 million ($75.9M) in investments. For areas with marginal accumulations, the total bonus was R$ 6.98 million, with a forecast of R$ 10.5 million in investments.The consortium of ExxonMobil, Murphy Oil, and Enauta has won three blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin.

ExxoMobil, as the operator, got a 50% interest and Murphy Oil and Enauta 20% and 30%, respectively, in blocks SEAL-M-505, SEAL-M-575, and SEAL-M-637.

The signing bonuses for the three blocks were R$ 2.7 million, R$3.1 million, and R$ 2.04 million.

Brazil’s first Permanent Offer round permanently offers a portfolio of blocks and areas with marginal accumulations for oil and natural gas exploration and production. Thus, companies, especially those not yet in Brazil, have the opportunity to study these areas without the time limitations that traditional rounds provide.

According to ANP, this was Brazil’s first auction in 20 years without the participation of the country’s state-owned oil and gas giant, Petrobras.