ExxonMobil gets hold of 8 deepwater blocks in Brazil. Readying seismic campaign

U.S. oil major ExxonMobil won the biggest number of blocks – eight – in Brazil’s bidding round for offshore acreage held on Thursday.

The oil giant, which expanded its Brazilian portfolio by 640,000 net acres, won blocks in Santos, Campos, and Sergipe Alagoas. Six of the eight newly awarded blocks will be operated by ExxonMobil.

“These recent bid round results add highly prospective acreage to ExxonMobil’s deepwater portfolio that we will explore and develop with our partners,” said Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company.

Exxon, together with partners Petrobras and Qatar Petroleum, also had the biggest bonus offered for one block – the SC-AP5, on Campos Basin, with R$ 2.82 billion ($853 million) offered.

“This acreage in Brazil’s pre-salt play will provide excellent opportunities to deploy our deepwater expertise. We will continue working with the government to develop these world-class resources for the benefit of Brazilians for many years to come,” Greenlee said.

Related: Big guns pay big money in ‘historic’ offshore bidding round in Brazil

ExxonMobil and its partners jointly won a total of eight blocks, which include two blocks in the Santos area which ExxonMobil will operate with partner Qatar Petroleum; Four blocks in the Campos area: ExxonMobil will operate two blocks with partners Petrobras and Qatar Petroleum; Petrobras will operate two blocks with partners ExxonMobil and Statoil; and two blocks in the Sergipe-Alagoas area which ExxonMobil will operate with partners Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção (QGEP) and Murphy Oil Corporation, and which will enhance the value of adjacent blocks already held.

ExxonMobil plans to obtain 3-D seismic coverage in 2018 on more than 4,000 square kilometers, including all of the ExxonMobil-operated exploration blocks announced in 2017, subject to permitting approvals. The company now has interests in 24 blocks offshore Brazil.