Petrobras, Petronas, BP, Shell and Chevron showed interest; number of companies registered is seen as a positive sign
08/31/2022
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Rodolfo Saboia — Foto: Leo Pinheiro/Valor
The auction of ultra-deep pre-salt areas, scheduled for December, is likely to draw competition for the assets, said Rodolfo Saboia, the director general of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). The number of companies registered to participate in the contest and the speed with which they expressed interest are positive signs, according to him.
“Everything indicates that there will be a good dispute. The [oil barrel] prices are high, and the assets are good. As soon as the call for bids was ready, there were expressions of interest from the companies. We expected that because we trust the quality of what is being put up for auction,” Mr. Saboia told Valor during the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS), the largest energy event in Europe, in Stavanger, Norway.
The auction scheduled for December 16 will be the first to auction blocks under the production sharing regime through the permanent offer – an ANP auction that is called only after companies show interest in the areas. In all, 11 blocks will be auctioned. Petrobras, Petronas, BP, Shell, Chevron, CNODC, CNOOC and TotalEnergies are the companies registered to participate.
Despite the discussions regarding the transition to a low-carbon economy, the world will still need fossil fuels, Mr. Saboia said. “Without enough renewable sources to replace fossil fuels, we will continue with fossil fuels. We can’t compromise energy security, as 84% of global energy still comes from fossil sources,” he said.
Regarding the supply of fuels in Brazil, Mr. Saboia said that the current energy crisis in Europe, which suffers from sanctions on Russian exports, can have an impact on Brazil, but stressed that at the moment there are no signs of supply problems yet. “Imports are happening in a normal way. There is no reason at this moment to believe that there will be any shortage of these products,” he said.
Mr. Saboia recalled that ANP monitors the fuel market in the country, including demand, supply, stocks and new import contracts. “These purchases are made well in advance and are expected to arrive up to a month and a half ahead, so at the moment we have no expectation of shortage,” he said.
The reporter’s travel costs were covered by Norwegian Energy Partners and Innovation Norway.
*By Gabriela Ruddy — Stavanger, Norway