Brazil received no bids in the first tender for a total 1.63 million barrels of crude extracted from the prolific pre-salt zone, Reuters reports . The state received the oil as payment from operators of fields in the zone and planned to sell it on under three-year contracts. However, interest was lacking, with only Shell registering as a bidder. Reuters reports that the first cargo auctioned by the state came from three fields in the pre-salt zone, including Libra, Lula, and Sapinhoa. All three are operated by consortia including Big Oil majors such as Shell in Sapinhoa, Lula and Libra, and Total in Libra. Overall oil production in the pre-salt zone averages 1.4 million barrels, making up more than half of Brazil’s total, averaging 2.6 million bpd. Production from the pre-salt layers is expected to jump to 5 million bpd by 2026. The lack of interest in the tender […]