Brazil’s oil regulator ANP has approved the applications of six companies—including Big Oil’s BP, Shell, and Total—to bid in next month’s oil auction of four blocks in the coveted pre-salt layer, ANP said on Wednesday. Shell, BP, and Total, as well as China-owned CNODC, Germany’s DEA Deutsche Erdoel, and Qatar’s QPI, were the first six companies that the regulator approved to take part in the fifth bidding round under production sharing agreements (PSAs) on September 28. Of those six firms, only DEA Deutsche Erdoel doesn’t currently have an exploration and production contract for oil and/or gas in Brazil. The regulator has received a total of 12 applications for the bid round, and it will review the remaining applications at its next meeting, ANP said. Brazil is offering four blocks in this auction—Saturno, Titã, Pau-Brasil, and Sudoeste de Tartaruga Verde—in the Campos and Santos basins. The bid round will be […]