ANP strategy falls flat as sixth round fails to hit high notes

摘要

The sixth pre-salt round — the last auction in Brazil's crowded 2019 calendar — ended on a disappointing note for the government, failing to attract competition and potentially signalling the end of the controversial preferential bidding rights that have been enjoyed by state-controlled Petro-bras. The Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP) offered production-sharing rights to five areas in the round and was hoping to attract bids from the international oil companies that had shied away from presenting offers in the Transfer of Rights (ToR) auction staged one day earlier. However, the strategy to stack together so many high-profile assets in a single week and saddle them with stinging signature bonuses backfired and the ANP had to be content with the sale of just one area to Petrobras, in partnership with China National Oil & Gas Exploration & Development Corporation.