Green Light for the Individualization of the Bacalhau Production Agreement

The board of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) approved the Production Individualization Agreement (PIA) for the shared Bacalhau deposit, located in the Santos Basin.

As a reminder, the PIA is an instrument used when reservoirs or deposits extend over more than one exploratory block or when they cover a non-contracted area. In 2014, Equinor had already notified the agency of the possibility that the then-Bacalhau discovery area (which at the time was called Carcará) could extend beyond the block to an area not contracted.

In 2017, during the 2nd Sharing Round, the Bacalhau Norte block, which included the non-contracted area, was purchased by the consortium formed by Equinor (40%), ExxonMobil (40%) and Petrogal (20%). This composition is the same as that of the consortium that operates in the Bacalhau block. In January, Equinor, the current operator of both contracts, sent the ANP the request for an PIA for the shared cod deposit.

In March of this year the ANP approved phase 1 of the Development Plan for the shared deposit in the Bacalhau and Bacalhau Norte fields. Equinor forecasts around US$8.5 billion in investments at this stage of the project, with the expectation of generating 400 new jobs and raising US$29 billion in government participations.