Preliminary Tender Notice Published for the Bidding of Uncontracted Areas of the Mero, Tupi, and Atapu Shared Reservoirs
On August 26, 2025, Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) published the Preliminary Notice for the Auction regarding the transfer of the Federal Government’s rights and obligations arising from the Unitization Agreements (AIPs) in the non-contracted or non-shared areas of the Mero, Tupi, and Atapu Shared Reservoirs (Lots), located in the Pre-Salt Polygon, in the Santos Basin (Bidding).
The bidding session is scheduled for December 4, 2025, at the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3).
1) Preliminary Tender Notice Phase
The Preliminary Tender Notice disclosure phase consists of (i) access to data packages for the areas to be auctioned, and (ii) submit contributions to the Preliminary Tender Notice.
Access to the Data Package
Access to the data package is optional and may be requested by interested parties until October 27, 2025, upon: (i) payment of an access fee in the amount of R$ 150,000.00 (one hundred and fifty thousand reais); (ii) signing a Confidentiality Agreement; and (iii) submitting a Declaration for Access to Data Packages.
Access to the data package will be made available by PPSA during the period from September 9, to November 5.
Contributions to the Preliminary Tender Notice
If interested parties have any questions or wish to make contributions to the Preliminary Tender Notice, these should be submitted to the committee chair via email at leilao_anc@ppsa.gov.br by September 8. Responses to contributions will be provided by September 19.
2) Bidding Phase
The tender notice will be published on October 8, marking the start of the following stages: (i) submission of qualifications by interested parties; (ii) submission of bid bonds; (iii) public session; (iv) approval of the result; (v) payment of the bid amount; and (vi) signing of contracts.
Participation in the Bid
Domestic or foreign legal entities and Private Equity Investment Funds (FIPs) may participate in the bidding process, either individually or as a consortium.
Bid Criteria
The winning bid will be the one with the highest price offered, which must be equal to or higher than the minimum value of the Lots to be established by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE).
Government Take
Royalties are set at 15% of the total volume of oil and natural gas attributed to each Block. There will be no occupancy or retention fees, nor any special take in production.
Delivery of Documentation
The delivery of the documentation required to participate in the Auction will be divided into Volumes 1 and 2.
Volume 1 consists of (i) delivery of documentation relating to the qualification of bidders, and (ii) presentation of the Bid Bond, which must cover the sum of the individual bid bond amount assigned to each of the Lots in which the bidder is interested in submitting a bid (Volume 1.A). Additional specific documentation must also be submitted in the case of bids made by a Consortium (Volume 1.B).
Volume 2 consists of the price proposal or declaration of no interest for each Lot to be submitted by each bidder in the B3 electronic system.
Signing of Agreements
The winning bidders of the Bid shall sign the Alienation Agreement and the Amendments to the Complementary Agreements.
The Alienation Agreement will formalize the transfer of certain rights and obligations of the Federal Government with respect to its participation in the Lots. Among these, the original appropriation right over the volumes of oil and natural gas produced from the areas is particularly noteworthy.
The Amendments to the Complementary Agreements shall be executed not only to formalize the transfer of the Federal Government’s rights, but also to allow the winning bidders to join the governance committees and to adjust the parties’ participations.
Schedule
The Bidding schedule following the publication of the final Tender Notice will be carried out as described below.
| # | Event Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Publication of the final version of the Tender Notice | 10/08/2025 |
| 2 | Delivery of Volume 1.A | 11/07/2025 |
| 3 | Delivery of Volume 1.B | 11/12/2025 |
| 4 | Delivery of Volume 2 | 12/03/2025 |
| 5 | Bidding Session | 12/04/2025 |
| 6 | Approval of the Bid results by the PPSA Executive Board | 12/10/2025 |
| 7 | Payment of the Price Proposal amount by all winning bidders | 12/19/2025 |
| 8 | Signing of Alienation Agreement and Amendments to the Complementary Agreements | Until 03/04/2026 |
| 9 | Delivery of Affiliate documentation indicated by the winning foreign Proponent or FIP for signing the Sale Agreement and Amendment to the Complementary Agreements. | Until 03/04/2026 |
| 10 | Signing of the Alienation Agreements and Amendments to the Complementary Agreements by the Affiliate designated by the winning foreign bidder or FIP. | Until 03/04/2026 |
For more information, please refer to the full Preliminary Tender Notice.
The Energy Team at Tauil & Chequer Advogados, in association with Mayer Brown, is available to provide further clarification on this matter.
