TN PETRÓLEO

Petrobras participated today (07/01) in the Ronda Uruguay 2009, a bidding round held by the Government of Uruguay for oil and natural gas exploration and production in blocks located in the Uruguayan continental platform, in the sedimentary basins of Pelotas and Punta del Este, areas which are considered as new frontiers. The Company submitted the best proposal for Blocks 3 and 4, located in the Punta del Este basin.


Block 3 is nestled at depths ranging from 100 to 200 meters and is 150 kilometers off the coast. Block 4, meanwhile, is located 300 kilometers off the coast at depths of 200 to 1500 meters. Petrobras has four years to carry studies out and decide if it will undertake drilling operations. The commitments the Company took on in the bid were to purchase the existing 2D seismic data and reprocess them.


Petrobras took part in this bid in a consortium with YPF and Galp Energia. The form of agreement defined for the Ronda Uruguay 2009 was shared production, a mode that implies in the Uruguayan government’s participation in the production.


Petrobras will be the operator of Block 4 (40%), while YPF will hold 40% and Galp 20% of the stakes, respectively. The company holds 40% of the stakes in Block 3. YPF will be the area’s operator (40%), and Galp will hold 20% of the stakes.


Petrobras is among the world’s offshore oil exploration and production leaders and is globally acknowledged for its deepwater expertise. To Petrobras, performing in Uruguay is important because of its context of energy integration in the Southern Cone.