French major Total eyes Brazil’s subsalt oil wealth

French oil major Total said it was ready to take part in the development of Brazil’s untapped subsalt oil wealth as soon as Brasilia gives the go-ahead to develop its coveted deep-water resources.

“Regarding pre-salt developments, Total is well prepared to participate and is waiting for Brazil to decide when these interesting areas will be opened,” to bidding rounds, Yves Louis Darricarrere told a conference on Brazil hosted by The Economist on Thursday.

Total, the world’s fifth-largest oil and gas group by market value, hopes to play a significant role in Brazil, whose vast deep-water oil reserves could turn the South American country into one of the world’s biggest oil exporters.

Experts say the country may have more than 50 billion barrels of oil — roughly equal to nearly two years of world oil consumption — buried deep under the ocean floor under a thick layer of salt in a region known as subsalt or pre-salt.

Auctions for subsea blocks are on hold until Congress agrees on how the different states in which subsalt resources are located should benefit from the royalties.

Brasilia said earlier this year it would hold its 11th oil and gas exploration bidding round in September for 174 onshore and offshore blocks, excluding subsalt discoveries.

“(This) concession round will certainly be of interest to us,” Darricarrere said. The new bidding round in September will be the first since 2008.

“The country remains a land of opportunity for the oil and gas industry. More discoveries stand to be made in Brazil since large areas of the country remain virtually unexplored,” Darricarrere said.

Total acquired last summer a 20 percent interest in Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) BM-S-54 license in the offshore Santos Basin, 200 km south of Rio de Janeiro.