Brazil's Lackluster Pre-Salt Auction

Amid scandal and high expectations, the first Brazilian pre-salt auction scheduled for Oct. 21 has had a slow start. The Brazilian government had expected as many as 40 firms to participate in the auction for Brazil's most prolific and technically challenging hydrocarbon deposits, but the National Petroleum Agency announced Sept. 19 that only 11 firms had registered. Among the registrants are many powerful state-owned oil companies — including China National Offshore Oil Corp., China National Petroleum Corp. and Malaysia's Petronas — alongside European supermajors Total and Royal Dutch/Shell. Notably absent were any U.S. companies.