Believed to contain geology analogous to hotspot exploration areas off West Africa, the five offshore basins deemed part of the margin delivered on promises to attract lively competition.
The proceedings, originally scheduled to run into Wednesday, wrapped up ahead of schedule late Tuesday afternoon in Rio de Janeiro.
French oil company Total, along with partners Petrobras and BP, bid aggressively for blocks in the ultra-deepwater portion of the Foz do Amazonas basin and secured a total of five permits by paying bonuses of over 620 million reais ($310 million).
The
