(BP) BP plc and Partners Total SA – Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Win Brazilian Acreage

The U.K. supermajor BP plc (BP) along with its partners Total SA (TOT), Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., or Petrobras (PBR) and Petrogal have emerged as winning bidders for the deepwater acreage in Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency’s (ANP) eleventh bidding round. This represents the first bidding round held since Dec 2008 and the first under Brazil’s new petroleum law. BP and partners will explore for oil and gas in eight deepwater blocks including FZA-M-57, FZA-M-59, FZA-M-86, FZA-M-88, FZA-M-125, and FAZ-M-127 in the Foz do Amazonas basin, BAR-M-346 in the Barreirinhas basin, and POT-M-764 in the Potiguar basin. Under the Brazilian concession regime, the companies will have the legal right to develop any commercial discovery. BP will operate block FZA-M-59 with a 70% stake and block BAR-M-346 with a 50% stake. The next