12/20/2016
The federal government will include in the next auction, ten exploratory areas with potential for pre-salt, six in Rio de Janeiro and four in Espírito Santo. If successful, they will be under the concession regime. “They are not in the pre-salt polygon, but they are adjacent areas, but who guarantees that the pre-salt is not going through this fence?”, Said the secretary of Petroleum And Natural Gas Ministry of Mines and Energy, Márcio Felix, after participating in an event in Espírito Santo promoted by the Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (IBP).
The government already knew the potential of these areas, but, under the management of PT, chose not to include them in the auctions. At the time, they were “preserved,” according to the secretary. “In other occasions, it was considered to include these areas, both from Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, but they were withdrawn because they were very close to pre salt fields and had very great potential.” We now have reserved these areas for auction. We expect them to be auctioned and bring significant investment, “Felix said. The announcement, with details of the areas included in the auction, will be announced in January.
Because they are not included in the pre-salt area, these areas can be auctioned under the concession and not sharing regime, which meets the demands of the oil companies to have access to areas of great potential, with financial compensation softer than that provided for in the sharing regime.
In the concession regime, the oil company pays royalties and special participations, the latter only in large production fields. In the sharing regime, besides the royalties, the oil company is obliged to divide the profit with the Union. In the sharing, Petrobras still has the option to decide whether or not it will participate in the pre-salt projects, unlike the concession auctions, in that the state has no advantage over other companies.
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