On March 25, 2019, Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels – ANP (“ANP”) published the draft tender protocol (“Draft Tender Protocol”) for the 16th Concession Bid Round (“16th Concession Bid Round”) for exploratory blocks, establishing the procedures and rules for participation in the bid, as well as the concession contract draft, the preliminary schedule, and information regarding the offered areas.

The 16th Concession Bid Round will offer 36 exploratory blocks located in 5 sedimentary basins: Camamu-Almada, Campos, Jacuípe, Pernambuco-Paraíba and Santos.

The technical data package is already available, and the interested bidders must (i) fill out the electronic registration form; (ii) submit the registration documents required by the draft tender protocol, such as the company’s corporate documents and evidence of powers of its legal representatives o r attorneys-in-fact and the confidentiality agreement; and (iii) pay the participation fee, in accordance with the specific sector of interest. The 16th Concession Bid Round will follow the schedule below.

Event

Date

Publication of the the Draft Tender Protocol and draft concession contract 

March 25, 2019

Commencement of the period for fulfillment of registration forms, delivery of registration documentation and payment of the participation fee

March 25, 2019

Technical data package availability

March 25, 2019

Deadline for comments to the Draft Tender Protocol and to the draft concession contract, and end of the public consultation

April 09, 2019

Public hearing (city of Rio de Janeiro)

April 10, 2019

Publication of tender protocol and concession contract

Until August 05, 2019

Technical seminar

July/2019

Environmental and fiscal-legal seminars

August/2019

Deadline for the fulfillment of registration forms, submission of registration documentation and payment of participation fee

August 20, 2019

Deadline to present the offer bid bonds

September 26, 2019

Public session for the presentation of offers

October 10, 2019

Deadline for the submission of the following documents: (i) qualification documents (winning bidder) and (ii) additional bid bond provided in section 6.4, item (v), when applicable

October 15, 2019

Award and ratification of the bid

Until December 13, 2019

Deadline to present the following documents related to: (i) the execution of the concession contract and (ii) qualification of the affiliate appointed for the execution of the concession contract, when applicable.

December 27, 2019

Deadline for payment of the signing bonus and submission of evidence of payment

December 27, 2019

Execution of concession contract

Until February 14, 2020

Among the innovations of the Draft Tender Protocol is the obligation to submit the required documentation by uploading it through the Electronic Information System ("SEI"), pursuant to the instructions provided in the “SEI External User Manual” and the “Manual for Submission of ANP Bidding Documents on SEI” available on ANP/Rodadas website (Portuguese only).

In addition to the digital submission through SEI, the original versions of the (i) bid bonds, (ii) financial guarantees of the minimum exploratory program, and (iii) performance guarantees must also be submitted in hard copy to ANP.

The Draft Tender Protocol is available on the ANP/Rodadas website (Portuguese only). All documents are available for public consultation by April 09, 2019, and inputs  may be made by both industry and the general public.

We will keep following the development of the 16th Concession Bid Round, and will keep you posted through our Legal Updates. We remain available to you for further clarification or information.