The fourth round of bidding for pre-salt exploration areas must generate at least R $ 3.2 billion to the public coffers. The National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE) is expected to meet yesterday (5) in Brasilia and, among other decisions, proposed the holding of the 17th and 18th Round of Bids for oil fields in the concession modality , in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

The 4th Production Sharing Round is scheduled to take place this Thursday (7), in Rio de Janeiro. The areas named Itaimbezinho, Três Marias, Dois Irmãos and Uirapuru will be offered in the Campos and Santos basins. Sixteen groups are eligible to participate in the event - a record, according to the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). Petrobras exercised preemptive rights in three areas, Dois Irmãos, Três Marias and Uirapuru.

Oil platform 

The fourth round of bidding for pre-salt exploration areas must generate at least R $ 3.2 billion to the public coffers.

The Saturn block would also be tendered this week but, on the recommendation of the Court of Audit of the Union (TCU), the area ended up included in the 5th round, scheduled to happen on September 28, a date that still needs to be approved by the Republic. In addition to Saturn, the next event will also be offered the Titã, Pau-Brasil and Southwest of Tartaruga Verde blocks, located in the Campos and Santos basins.

According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, exploratory block bidding rounds are the main means of access for oil companies to the strategic pre-salt areas and are of great importance for the strengthening of the Brazilian oil industry.

In April of that year alone, pre-salt production increased by 2.3% in relation to the previous month, corresponding to 54.4% of all oil and gas produced in the country. A total of 1.423 million barrels of oil per day and 58 million cubic meters of natural gas per day were produced. The Lula field, in the Santos Basin, was the largest producer of oil and natural gas, producing on average 898 thousand bbl / d of oil and 38 million m3 / d of natural gas.

RenovaBio 

CNPE advisers also submitted to the Presidency of the Republic for approval that the annual compulsory greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for fuels should be cut by 10%.

If approved, the proposal will result in the withdrawal of 600 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere by 2028, according to Ministry of Mines and Energy calculations. According to the portfolio, the definition of the decarbonization targets of the National Biofuels Policy (RenovaBio) indicates the country's willingness to "seek an increasingly sustainable path in its fuel matrix, providing a lower emission of greenhouse gases per unit of energy".

The measure will also stimulate the production of more efficient fuels.