Peter Howard Wertheim]
OGJ Correspondent
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov.27 -- Brazil has qualified 43 companies to bid in its eighth oil exploration and production licensing round scheduled for Nov. 28-29—11 of them for the first time—said Brazil National Petroleum and Biofuels Agency (ANP). Only during the second (44 companies) and the seventh round (137 companies) were there more oil firms qualified to participate.
"Considering that Campos basin, the most prolific oil province in Brazil, was taken out of this round and also parts of the huge Santos basin, the participation of so many companies bodes very well for the success of the round," said Haroldo Lima, ANP's executive director.
This round, for the first time, also limits the number of bids that each company can make because during the seventh round, a single foreign company won an area of 12,000 sq. km in the São Francisco and Solimões basins—more than the whole area available for bidding this year.
Brazil's state-owned Petroleos Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) is preparing an aggressive strategy for bidding the eighth round. The goal, said Petrobras president José Sérgio Gabrielli, is to guarantee and maintain the country's self-sufficiency in oil, which was attained last May.
Gabrielli said Petrobras has been adopting a strategy since 2003 to expand its portfolio of blocks and thus guarantee sustainable production. Petrobras plans to produce 2.4 million boe/d by 2011 and 3.4 million boe/d by 2015.
