Brazil's ANP to auction 312 blocks in November

Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP) said it plans to auction 312 offshore oil and gas blocks on Nov. 27-28.

Sept. 20, 2007

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 -- Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP) said it plans to auction 312 offshore oil and gas blocks on Nov. 27-28. Of these, 221 are offshore and 91 on land.

Several blocks have an "elevated potential to hit oil or gas," the agency said Sept.18, adding that they are adjacent to promising finds in Brazil's Santos basin.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA and BG Group this month announced that they found oil in Carioca field in Santos basin, while late last year they discovered oil in the nearby Tupi field (OGJ Online, Sept. 12, 2007 and Oct. 6, 2006).

Several of the blocks to be auctioned lie between those two finds, ANP said, adding that it also will auction promising blocks in the oil-rich Campos and Espirito Santo basins in November.

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].