SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras and France’s Total have bought stakes in three pre-salt oil blocks off the Atlantic coast.
In an auction held Friday, the two companies agreed to pay 3.26 billion reals ($800 million) for the three blocks.
Petrobras agreed to 36 month operating contracts in the Mero and Sapinhoa blocks which have a combined output capacity of 11.2 million barrels over the next three years.
Total agreed to a 12 month contract for the Lula block which has an estimated output capacity of 1.1 million barrels.
The pre-salt reserves auctioned are more than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) below the ocean’s surface and another 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) underneath soil and corrosive salt.
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