Oil companies want to include tankers in BR do Mar

Dec 16, 2019

The Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels (IBP) has sent a letter to the Ministries of Economy and Infrastructure asking the government to evaluate the inclusion of tankers in the BR do Mar project, the Bolsonaro government’s promise to encourage cabotage navigation. in Brazil.

The IBP, which represents oil companies installed in the country, evaluates that current rules may lead to a bottleneck in the flow of oil and natural gas production, with the risk of negatively impacting the increase in production and exploration of the sector.

Brazil currently produces about 3 million barrels per day, mostly offshore, with emphasis on pre-salt fields, which already account for over 60% of total production. In the case of platforms without connection to shore terminals, in the case of large pre-salt fields, this oil is moved by relief vessels.

National oil production is expected to double by 2030 with the start-up of new pre-salt projects, which will continue to use ships to bring oil to shore.

The IBP’s main concern, according to the letter, is the growing demand for tankers and market restrictions, if the category is not contemplated by the government’s initiative to facilitate and reduce bureaucracy.

“In practice, in addition to the fact that there are no more sophisticated Brazilian flag tankers, there are also no conventional Brazilian flag tankers available on the market. It remains for oil companies to broker a very limited number of EBNs that offer cabotage through the hiring of foreign vessels made available by international shipowners specializing in oil transportation, ”says the document.

Bolsonaro government has not yet decided how to submit the project to Congress. The BR do Mar project, run by Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, does not yet have a definite model to be sent to the National Congress. By the first half of this year, the initiative would be implemented through an interim measure, but now the executive is considering submitting a bill.

Diogo Piloni, the national secretary of Ports and Waterways Transportation, said that the government should slice the project and send separately the text that facilitates the chartering of vessels. Subsequently, other measures debated within the scope of the bill would be released for parliamentary deliberation.

The BR do Mar project has as its main objective the expansion of cabotage in the Brazilian logistics matrix by stimulating the segment through “security for the participation of foreign vessels in the transportation of cargo by cabotage”, according to the information contained in the Partners Program and Investments (PPI).