2018.03.2920:35:00UTC+00BRAZIL: Government Receives No Bids For Onshore Oil And Gas Areas

The Brazilian government failed to receive bids for onshore oil blocks auctioned on Thursday.

The tender included 21 onshore blocks in the Paran? and Parna?ba basins. The absence of demand for those blocks reflects the fact that tendered areas are little known and have technological barriers. In 2017, onshore production accounted for around 8% of Brazil's output.

Earlier, the Brazilian government sold less than half of the offshore oil blocks auctioned, raising R$ 8.014 billion (US$ 2.41 billion) and drawing an expected investment of R$ 1.222 billion to those areas. According to official data, 22 out of 49 blocks were sold. It was the first oil area auction held after changes to the auctioning process.

For the director general of the ANP, D?cio Odone, it was expected that there would be investor interest in the onshore wells, especially in the Parani basin. However, the companies of the sector would be divided between the divestitures of Petrobras and the exploratory risks of the offers.

"Petrobras is divesting into assets that are drawing the attention of companies operating in Brazil, and the result for these areas is due to this," Odone said.