On April 15, 2019, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels ("ANP") published the preliminary tender protocol ("Pre-Tender") of the 6th Bid Round under the production sharing regime ("6th Pre-Salt Round") to establish the procedures and rules for participating in the bid and to make available the production sharing agreement drafts, the preliminary schedule and other relevant information about the offered areas.

The 6th Pre-Salt Round will offer five blocks, four in the Santos Basin (Aram, Bumernague, Cruzeiro do Sul and Sudoeste de Sagitário) and one in the Campos Basin (Norte de Brava). Petrobras has preferential rights to be the operator with a minimum 30% participating interest in the Aram, Sudoeste de Sagitário and Norte de Brava blocks.

The Pre-Tender established the following amounts for the blocks offered:

Block

Signature Bonus (BRL)

Minimum Percentage of Profit Oil (%)

Aram

5.05 billion

24.53%

Bumerangue

550 million

26.68%

Cruzeiro do Sul

1.15 billion

22.87%

Sudoeste de Sagitário

500 million

26.09%

Norte de Brava

600 million

36.98%

The technical data package is already available, and interested bidders must (i) fill out the electronic registration form; (ii) submit the registration documents required by the Pre-Tender document, such as the company's corporate documents and evidence of powers of its legal representatives or attorneys-in-fact and the confidentiality agreement; and (iii) pay the participation fee, in accordance with the specific sector of interest. The 6th Pre-Salt Round will follow this schedule:

Event

Date

Publication of the draft tender protocol and production sharing agreement drafts

April 15, 2019

Commencement of the period for delivery of documentation for expression of interest, qualification, and payment of the participation fee

April 15, 2019

Technical data package availability

April 15, 2019

Deadline for comments on the draft tender protocol and the production sharing agreement drafts and end of public consultation

May 6, 2019

Public hearing (city of Rio de Janeiro)

May 10, 2019

Technical seminar

August 2019

Publication of tender protocol and production sharing agreement models

September 4, 2019

Environmental and fiscal-legal seminars

September 2019

Deadline for delivery of documentation on expression interest, qualification, and payment of participation fee

September 19, 2019

Deadline to present the bid offer guarantees

October 23, 2019

Public session for the presentation of offers

November 7, 2019

Award process and ratification of the bidding

Until November 18, 2019

Deadline to submit documents related to (i) the signing of the production sharing agreements; (ii) the additional bid guarantee, when necessary; and (iii) the qualification of the affiliate appointed for the signing of the contract, should the need arise

December 27, 2019

Deadline for payment of the signing bonus and proof of payment

December 27, 2019

Signing of the production sharing agreement

Until March 31, 2020

Among the changes with this Pre-Tender document is the obligation to submit the required documentation by uploading it through the Electronic Information System ("SEI"), using the instructions provided in the "SEI External User Manual" and the "Manual for Submission of ANP Bidding Documents on SEI" available on the 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 form to ANP.

The Pre-Tender is available on the ANP/Rodadas website (Portuguese only). All documents are available for public consultation, and comments will be accepted from both industry and the general public up until May 6, 2019.

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This article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.