Second pre-salt auction increases deadline for trade of government oil

Agência Brasil

After a public consultation, state-owned company Pre-Sal Petróleo extended the term of marketing for Federal Government oil produced in the pre-salt area to 36 months. The decision was formalised by an announcement published on Thursday (2 August), which also defined that the second auction will be held on 31 August.

In total, the federal government will offer to sell 14.4 million barrels of oil from its reserves in the Mero Development Area and the Lula and Sapinhoá fields (all in Santos, off the coast of São Paulo). The auction will be held on the B3 Stock Exchange, located in the city of São Paulo.

The company chosen to market the oil produced in each of the lots will be the one to offer the highest premium over the Reference Price defined by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), defined based on external market values. Each of the areas will be auctioned individually.

Lots

It is estimated that, of the 14.4 million barrels that must be produced during the three-year period, 73.6% (10.6 million) will come from the Mere Development Area. Another 3.2 million barrels of oil will come from the Lula field, while the Sapinhoá field will be responsible for the production of 600 thousand barrels. If any of the lots are not marketed, there will be a second stage of the auction, with the possibility of signing 12-month contracts. If all areas are auctioned in the first stage, however, the federal government is expected to raise R$ 3 billion in revenue.

The first auction of federal government oil in the pre-salt area was held in May, also aimed at selling future production from the Mero area and Lula and Sapinhoá fields. No offers were made for that auction.