On Wednesday, the president of the Committee on Mines and Energy, Deputy Bernardo Ariston (PMDB-RJ), defended the creation of a new government’s company to represent the domestic interests in the exploitation of the pre-salt.

That suggestion was supported by congresspeople attending the seminary “Brazil in face of the pre-salt”, promoted by that Committee and by the Council of High Studies and Technological Evaluation of the Chamber.

According to Ariston, since 63% of Petrobras stock belongs to private enterprise, it could not play that role. “And we are not talking about an exploitation which could reach areas not yet undergoing bidding processes, which still belong to the Union. Therefore we need even more a new government company”, defended the congressman.

On Tuesday (2), during the general committee of the Chamber, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Edilson Lobão, announced that the bill on the regulatory benchmark for that industry should be sent to the Chamber in August, but did not advance details on it.

Norwegian style
Also defending that bill on the establishment of a new government company, the President of the National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP), Haroldo Lima, stressed that the government is studying a similar hypothesis to the model adopted by Norway. Lima participates in the group which is elaborating that bill.

In Norway, there is a government company handling the exploitation – a public-held company, with stock negotiated in stock exchanges, similar to Petrobrás – and another company, representing the interests of the Norwegian government.

Frugal company
For the Chamber’s consultant, Paulo César Ribeiro de Lima, who has been studying possible models for the pre-salt, a government company is essential. However, he adverted that the Norwegian government company, called Petoro, is an accounting and frugal company, counting only 58 employees, and should not be a model to Brazil. For him, technical expertise and negotiation skills are necessary for Brazil to participate in that exploitation together with the winners of any consortium.

He explained that Norway has no concession model and royalty collection, as Brazil has, and that the Norwegian exploitation platform is much smaller and technically simple than the pre-salt platform.

Ribeiro Lima was a production engineer of Petrobras for 17 years, but admitted that it would be very difficult to re-transfer the company to the government at this moment; therefore, he defends a company which would belong 100% to the government.

Previous prices
The secretary of Oil, Natural Gas and Renewable Fuels of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, José Lima de Andrade Neto, explained that the current model was though of 12 years ago. At that time, oil cost less than US$20 per barrel, and it was forecast that that would be its price for the following years. “It was bullshit”, commented Andrade Neto, when he explained that the prices rocketed, and, despite the global crisis, have not come down to that level again.

The ministry’s technician said that Brazil’s conditions have also changed, and that it is currently able to finance itself, with lower qualification costs, diversified facilities in industry and oil, with the association of 40 small companies to the industry. Therefore, he defended the review of the related legislation, “apart from any ideological discussion, because technical conditions have changed”.

Moreover, he explained that more than 62% of the areas of the pre-salt have not yet been conceded, and even 70% of the ones already granted before the most important findings belong to consortia led by Petrobras. “And Brazil must have other ambitions but becoming a large oil exploiter; it has to become a pole of the petroliferous industry”, he added.

Report - Marcello Larcher
Editing - Newton Araújo
Traducción - Positive Idiomas Ltda