Abstract

The Pre-Salt Polygon was established in 2010, encompassing an area of about 150,000 km² offshore southeast Brazil. It covers parts of both the Campos and Santos basins and contains giant and supergiant discoveries found in mid-to-late Aptian reservoirs. Three fiscal regimes coexist within this area: concession, production sharing, and onerous transfer of rights. Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) is a state-owned company created in 2013 and represents the Brazilian government’s interests within the Pre-Salt Polygon. It has three main objectives: (1) to manage production sharing agreements, (2) to represent the Brazilian government in unitization agreements involving open acreage (noncontracted and strategic areas), and (3) to trade the Brazilian government’s share of oil and natural gas. Unitization is a common feature within the Pre-Salt Polygon, and PPSA is a key player in the process with a portfolio of seven unitization agreements already executed, two under negotiation, and 11 others in early stages of discussion with some of the world’s most important oil companies. This chapter presents a brief description of the Brazilian unitization process with open acreage within the Pre-Salt Polygon, highlighting its peculiarities and challenges, and the important role played by PPSA.