The announcement of a pre-salt oil reservoir of the Santos Basin, on the last day 4, provoked a complaint of the Single Petrolers Federation (FUP). Not that the institution that represents oil industry workers is against exploration, but the announcement was made by British multinational BP Energy.
The company classified the discovered as “significant” And he claimed to be the company’s largest in 25 years. The advertised reservoir is in the boomerang block, about 400 meters from the coast of Rio de Janeiro. For comparison, it is almost the distance between the cities of Rio and São Paulo (417 km).
The dissatisfaction of the FUP is because the block belongs one hundred percent to BP, without the participation of Petrobras. THE right to explore the block It was auctioned in 2022, an auction of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), a regulatory body of the oil industry, linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).
In a statement released after the announcement of boomerang, FUP considers that the discovery shows “the risks of pre-salt delivery to foreign capital and the setbacks caused by the flexibility of the sharing regime.”
“The operation reinforces the loss of national control over strategic resources,” says the entity’s general coordinator, Deyvid Bacelar.
Change in law
Bacelar criticizes Law 13,365, 2016, which disobeys Petrobras from being an operator of all pre-salt blocks. The text has changed 2010 legislation, making Petrobras have the so -called preference right, that is, can choose whether or not to be an operator. If so, you will have participation at least 30% of the exploiting consortium.
At the time, the advocates of the change said that release Petrobras from being an operator of all blocks would be a relief to the company’s financial situation, which faced severe crisis in 2016, in the wake of Operation Lava Jetand had difficulty investing. The then president of the state -owned company, Pedro Parente, understood that the obligation prevented the company from choosing the options that would best meet her interest.
For FUP, flexibility has made room for important discoveries by international oil companies. The representation of workers also points out that the change made blocks could be bid with less goodwill, that is, paying cheaper.
In boomerang, BP offered the union a portion of surplus oil of 5.9%, characterizing goodwill of 4.24%. West is the difference between the minimum surplus required by the auction and that offered by the bid.
“The same BP offered only 6.5% in the Tupinambá block, awarded in 2023, consolidating a low compensation trend to the country and a high concentration of exploration by foreign companies,” says Deyvid Bacelar.
How the auction works
The discovery of the pre-salt was so significant to the potential for Brazilian oil production that it led the government-with the approval of the National Congress-to change the regime that authorized companies to explore submerged wealth.
Thus, in the pre-salt areas the sharing regime prevails. In this model, in addition to the oil company to pay the so -called subscription bonus, the production of surplus oil (balance after payment of costs) is divided between the company and the Union.
When the auction is held, it overcomes the right to explore the company that offers the largest share of profit to the Union, ie the largest percentage of the surplus. The companies also pay royalties.
This rule is different from the concession model, valid in other oil and gas blocks. In the traditional model, the risk of investing and finding – or not – oil is the dealership, which becomes the owner of all the oil and gas that may be discovered. In addition to the signing bonus when auctioning the auction, the oil company pays royalties and special participation (in the case of fields of large production).
In both the boomerang and Tupinambá auction, BP played alone. In Tupinambáthe goodwill was 33.20%.
Industry Defends Model
The oil industry defends the current model, with Petrobras having only the right of preference. Sought by Brazil agencythe Brazilian Institute of Oil and Gas – which represents companies in the sector, including Petrobras – stated that the current Brazilian policy of oil and gas exploration and production, which provides for the presence of multiple operators, has shown positive results.
“The performance of several operators, including pre-salt, allows us to increase the geological knowledge of the region, accelerate exploration and maximize the potential of the basin,” said IBP president Roberto Ardenghy.
“IBP argues that the presence of several national and international companies, with their different technologies and expertise, distributes risk, promotes greater competition, attracts investments and, consequently, expands the collection of royalties and special participations for the country. This results in greater value for Brazilian society,” he added.
THE Brazil agency He asked Petrobras for comments about the current model preferably without obligation, but received no return. Last Friday (8), during a teleconference with analysts and investors, the company’s president, Magda Chambriard, was asked about participation in other types of auction, such as non-contracted areas (when the government sells production rights not yet contracted). In response, Chambriard stated that “the company will always be present in any and all the opportunity for anp auction.”
“The Brazilian territory is our house and, when it is offered areas of pre-salt, then, it is not even mentioned, of course we will be present of the auction, it is of our interest,” he replied.
However, Magda Chambriard pondered the interests of the company. “Regardless of anything, this will only happen if it makes economic sense to us. No one here is thinking of any excessive adventure. If the project is good, if the project is worth it and if it is planned in our business plan, it is this direction that we will follow,” he said.
Sought by Brazil agencyANP stated that it is not up to the institution, as a regulatory agency, to comment on laws passed by the congress. “ANP fulfills the legislation in force and implements policies emanating from the government,” he said in a statement.
MME did not respond to the request for comments.
Pros and cons
Professor Geraldo Ferreira, from the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), recalled that the change in Petrobras’ law and posture was after change of government, with the presidency of Michel Temer (2016-2018), which Ferreira classifies as “more oriented to the market”.
“Petrobras management is also exchanged to be in tune with the new times in the market,” says the teacher, who cites pros and cons on changing legislation.
He points out that, dishonoring Petrobras of having to invest in all areas, there is a flexibility that allows “faster development where the company would not prioritize.”
On the other hand, Ferreira believes that there is “weakening the strategic control of the oil and gas sector by the Brazilian state”.
Among the effects of this weakening are “lower government participation by barrel in some contracts, weaker coordination for industrial policy and greater risk of underfinking social fund – especially in low -bid oil companies such as boomerang”.
The Social Fund is created so that some of the resources that the government raises in the pre-salt is intended for areas such as health, education and the environment.
For Ferreira, the current scenario is more favorable to foreign companies and this is not necessarily an incentive for Brazilian oil industry.
“Only if combined with firm and intelligent conditions that transform the presence of foreign operators into domestic capacity, providing industrialization, human resources formation and technology absorption,” he says.
Otherwise, the UFF expert completes, Brazil will be a mere exporter of commodities (large-scale and international prices traded raw materials). “As occurs since the past, examples being gold and diamond in Minas Gerais in the 19th century,” he adds.
Ferreira also believes that Petrobras’ non-ubiquity in pre-salt results in “there is no more guarantee of leadership in coordinating the development of various blocks, with planning and associated infrastructure implementation”.
Other auctions
The next exploration auction will be in a little over two months. It is the 3rd cycle of the permanent sharing offer, scheduled for October 22. There will be 13 exploratory blocks, located in the basins of Santos and Campos.
Fifteen companies qualified, among them the Brazilian Petrobras, Prio and 3R (Brava Energia), and the multinationals Chevron (United States), Ecopetrol (Colombia), Equinor (Norway), Petrogal (Portugal), Qatarenergy (Qatar), Shell (Anglo-Holanded), Total Energies (France), Karoon (Australia), in addition to the Chinese Cnooc and Sinopepe.
In June, the ANP held the 5th cycle auction of the permanent concession offer, which included areas in the mouth of Amazonas, in Equatorial marginRegion considered “the new pre-salt”, expecting great discoveries. Petrobras already has blocks in the region, but still needs authorization from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), an environmental authority linked to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
Were offered 19 blocks in the regionbeing Petrobras one of the highlights, with 10 areas finished, all in consortium with the American Exxonmobil. Nine blocks were purchased by Chevron in a consortium with Chinese CNPC.
