Petrobras and Chinese state firms CNOOC and CNODC made the only bids out of over a dozen major oil firms who had registered. Two of four blocks on offer got no bids.
Brazil’s government received approximately 70 billion reais (US$17 billion) of signing fees from the minimum bid by Petrobras in a consortium with CNOOC and CNODC for the round’s biggest block, Buzios, and a lone Petrobras bid for the smallest block, Itapu.
On the Buzios block, Petrobras took a 90% stake while 5% each went to CNOOC and CNODC, a unit of China National Petroleum Corp.
Petrobras already has four operating platforms in Buzios, and plans to install four more in Buzios and the other nearby blocks by 2023.
Brazil’s sixth pre-salt bidding round, a much more conventional oil auction is scheduled for today (7 November).