Brazil raises $71m in gas exploration auction

The Brazilian government Thursday raised 165 million reais (71 million U.S. dollars) in revenue by auctioning a series of natural gas exploration blocks around the country, the National Petroleum Agency announced. Brazil auctioned 240 onshore exploration blocks in 10 states. However, only 72 of the blocks found bidders from a total of 12 companies registered to participate in the auction said the agency in a statement. Brazil's oil and gas giant Petrobras won most of the bids, snatching 49 of the 72 blocks sold. Brazil currently holds natural gas reserves of 460 billion cubic meters, and produces an average of 70.7 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. < However, if the estimated capacity of the auctioned blocks and the country's pre-salt oil reserves are confirmed, the output could reach 120 million cubic meters per day by 2020.