Divulgação

Petrobras will have a 30% minimum share in all Pre-salt areas

In the ceremony for the release of the regulatory framework of exploration of the Pre-salt petroleum, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Michel Temer, received of the President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Monday (31th), a message with the four bills which propose a new legal framework to the sector. The texts will be analysed in constitutional urgency regime and, therefore, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate will have 45 days, each, to discuss and vote them.

Temer anticipates an intense debate in the Parliament around these proposals. He stated that he was satisfied by the fact that the subjects were sent as urgent bills instead of Provisional Measures. According to him, now is the moment to go “from the pre-salt to the after-salt”, with the effectuation of the proposals.

He said that the National Congress would help out with this “innovator and extraordinary bill”. According to Temer, the pre-salt petroleum will ensure the self-sufficiency of the country and allow Brazil to supply other countries.

The Proposals
The first bill of the Executive is about the exploration and production of petroleum and gas under the sharing regime on the Pre-salt and in strategic areas. The second bill creates the Petro-Sal, company that will represent the Union on the partnerships and consortia created to manage the sharing agreements.

A third bill proposes the creation of a social fund (with resources of the exploration of Pre-salt) to fight against poverty and encourage education and culture, scientific research and environmental sustainability. The last bill is about the capitalization of Petrobras. The idea is to rise the financing capacity of the company for the realization of investments, especially in the Pre-salt.

Sharing Regime
The current rules will hold for the already granted areas. In the case of new areas, the Sharing Regime will be adopted, by means of which the Union may hire Petrobras to work on Pre-salt or other companies by means of bidding. The winner will be the one who offers the highest oil percentage to the Union. In any case, Petrobras will have a 30% minimum share in all Pre-salt areas.

The petroleum layer of Pre-salt is located in deep waters, in an offshore line of 800 km of extension and 200 km of width, ranging from the state of Espírito Santo to the state of Santa Catarina. According to specialists, the oil is of a high quality because of its conservation conditions. The volume of these reserves is not yet known, but it is estimated that only in Tupi, one of the 5 Pre-salt areas, there is the equivalent of 5 billion to 8 billion barrels of oil.

Reporting – Idhelene Macedo and José Carlos Oliveira
Edition – Maria Clarice Dias