Brazil: Petrobras dominates licensing round

PETROBRAS dominated the sixth annual licensing round, held last month. Out of 154 concessions awarded, the state-controlled company acquired operatorship of 102 and interests in another five. The number of awards made was not overwhelming, considering that a total of 913 blocks were on offer—619 offshore and 294 onshore. But the sixth round marked a significant improvement from the fifth, when 101 concessions were made from 908 on offer. A total of R$0.665bn ($220m) was generated in signature bonuses—the highest result of all Brazil's bidding rounds so far—and more than R$2bn ($0.66bn) pledged in exploration spending. But there was a disappointing lack of competition for many blocks, with th