In a historic auction for deepwater oil assets in Brazil, the oil majors showed up on October 27 and bought several offshore blocks, indicating a high level of interest in the country after a major policy overhaul allowed private investment. Royal Dutch Shell won half of the blocks that were offered, and Shell was already one of Brazil’s largest foreign investors. After purchasing BG Group for around $50 billion, Shell took a large presence in Brazil. The logic behind Shell’s strategy is that the company argues it can breakeven with oil at $40 per barrel, making Brazil one of the most attractive places to drill offshore in the world. “These winning bids were submitted after our thorough evaluation and add strategic acreage to our … global deep-water growth options,” Shell Upstream Director Andy Brown said. ExxonMobil took one block, expanding its position after winning six offshore blocks a few […]