Brazil to hold off on new leasing round

Brazil is unlikely to hold its 11th oil bidding round until early 2012, Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao said, according to news reports.

Brazil had hoped to hold the round later this year but President Dilma Rousseff is still reviewing the exploration and production blocks that are expected to be put up for auction, Reuters reported.

Lobao said that the auction could occur in January or February of next year but that none of the highly sought after concession blocks in the subsalt area off Brazil's southeastern coast will be included in the new auction.

New frontier exploratory blocks, including in the Amazon region, are expected to be auctioned, however, as the government tries to open up new reserves beyond the current focus of exploration and production in the subsalt area.

Brazil suspended the auctions of the most promising deep-water blocks in 2007, shortly after state oil company Petrobras discovered massive deposits of light oil and gas in its Santos and Campos basins.