The Board of Directors of the ANP (Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels) approved on Thursday (July 24) the geoeconomic studies related to three new exploratory blocks located in the Pre-salt area of the Campos Basin: Calcita, Dolomita, and Azurita. The studies were carried out under the Calcita Project and constitute the fourth initiative linked to the Strategic Calendar for Geological and Economic Evaluations for the Pre-salt Polygon, established by the agency at the end of 2023.

With a total area of approximately 6,200 km², the blocks have been classified as having high potential, and the studies indicate favorable technical and economic conditions for the development of large-scale projects in the region.

With this latest development, the ANP has now studied approximately 68% of the effective sedimentary area of the Pre-salt Polygon—an unprecedented figure since the creation of the production-sharing regime.

According to Law No. 12,351/2010, the geoeconomic studies and coordinates of the designated blocks will now be submitted to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), which holds the authority to disclose their geographic layout and propose their inclusion in the production-sharing regime to the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE).

In addition to CNPE approval, the blocks must also receive a Joint Statement from the MME and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) in order to be formally included in the list of the Permanent Production Sharing Offer (OPP). Therefore, the blocks are not yet part of the official notice and will not be included in the 3rd OPP Cycle.

This initiative reinforces ANP’s commitment to the strategic valorization of Brazil’s Pre-salt resources, contributing to increased regulatory predictability and the strengthening of competition in the oil and gas sector.

Nomination of Block for the Permanent Concession Offer (OPC)

The ANP Board also approved yesterday the nomination of a new onshore exploratory block in the Amazonas Basin for inclusion in the Permanent Concession Offer (OPC). Covering around 275 km², the block was defined in accordance with the technical and socio-environmental criteria established by applicable legislation.

To be included in the OPC public notice, the block must still undergo environmental analysis, receive a Joint Statement from the MME and MMA, and be subjected to a public hearing, as outlined on the "Exploratory Blocks" page under "Blocks under study." Only after being included in the official notice will the block be eligible to receive expressions of interest from registered companies and be part of a future OPC cycle.

The geographic layout of the originally proposed block will be subject to changes based on environmental analyses and guidelines and will be disclosed in due course on the OPC webpage.