QP Wins Oil Exploration Contract in Brazil

Doha, October 28 (QNA) - A consortium of Qatar Petroleum, Shell and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) was selected as the winning bidder for the Alto de Cabo Frio-Oeste block in the prolific Santos hydrocarbon basin offshore Brazil. According to a press release Saturday by Qatar Petroleum (QP), the area that has been awarded an exploration contract is about 1,385 square kilometers, one of four areas offered by Brazil in the third round from the request for proposals for exploration in the Santos and Campos Basins, which included the areas of Pau Brasil, Peroba and Alto De Cabo Frio-Central. The Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) announced the results yesterday at the plenary session of the tender held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where participants submitted their bids for the various blocks on offer and the winners of each block were announced upon opening of the bid at the same event. The President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi expressed his hope saying " we are pleased that our consortium was awarded this block in Brazil, which contains some of the most promising hydrocarbon prone areas in the world, this important achievement is another result of our strategy to expand our international upstream footprint in Brazil." The relevant agreements, including the production sharing agreement, are expected to be signed between Brazilian authorities and the consortium members in December of this year.(QNA)