OPINION: Brazil held two bid rounds last week showcasing that companies are still looking for attractive acreage to run exploration work in search of oil and gas deposits in the South American nation.

In an eight-hour event, Brazil raised nearly 430 million reais ($87 million) in signature bonuses and awarded a total of 194 onshore and offshore areas.

And despite the buzz around the potential of the deep-water portion of the Pelotas basin given its potential analogies with giant finds made on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Namibia, it was actually one small newcomer that ended up getting the spotlight.