Brazil Delays Licensing Round
Brazilian upstream regulator ANP has temporary suspended the country's 17th oil and gas licensing round which had been slated to go ahead this year, it said in a message on April 1.
The step was taken because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, which has led to many upstream operators taking the knife to capital expenditure to protect their cash flow. It comes after Brazil's energy ministry suspended pre-auction procedures such as the drafting of documents and contracts because of the market turmoil.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
Brazil's National Energy Policy Council will set a new schedule for the licensing round at a later stage, ANP said.
Meanwhile, Argentina has put on hold a tender for the construction of a 1,000-km gas pipeline connecting fields in the Vaca Muerta shale zone to the province of Neuquen near Buenos Aires, local press has reported. The pipeline is expected to pump 50mn m3/yr of gas at full capacity. Its development is to be broken down into two stages, costing $800mn and $1.2bn respectively.
A competition for a $650mn public-private partnership to build and operate a 490-km power cable is also understood to have been cancelled.