Brazil announces new licensing round

Brazil’s 13th bidding round for exploration licences will be held in October,  Minister of Mines and Energy Eduardo Braga announced on Monday.

Speaking at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, Braga said the bidding round will see 269 blocks put on offer. It had originally been scheduled for earlier in 2015 but was delayed amid the fall in global oil prices and a corruption scandal at Brazil’s semi-public energy company Petrobras. The auction will be managed by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

The bidding round will concentrate on Brazil’s Eastern Margin offshore region, but will also include onshore blocks. It will feature a variety of frontier, mature and high-potential areas.

The round will not offer subsalt acreage. The ministry hopes to offer a second subsalt round in 2016-2017. Brazil’s first subsalt bidding round was held in October 2013.

According to the Reuters news agency, a local newspaper said the government was hoping to raise up to $850 million with the auction.

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