Brazil to Approve 12th Round Natural Gas Concession Auction

Brazil's National Energy Policy Council was expected to approve Tuesday an auction of natural gas concessions scheduled for November, said the director of the country's National Petroleum Agency, or ANP.

The ANP will put up for bid 240 exploration blocks in seven inland basins at the auction, the ANP's Magda Chambriard said. The blocks are focused on natural gas exploration, including so-called non-conventional deposits similar to the shale deposits being tapped in the U.S.

State-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, has been evaluating Brazil's non-conventional natural gas potential since last November, said Jose Formigli, Petrobras's exploration and production director.

Petrobras has been working "heavily" to identify promising areas and ways to reduce drilling costs to make developing such deposits viable, Mr. Formigli said. Some of the areas are very remote, so Petrobras wants to have a good idea about the best way to turn the natural gas into cash, the executive added.