Bill to end the pre salt polygon advances in the Senate

(eixos) The Senate is advancing in discussions on bill 3.178/2019, which proposes the end of the pre-salt polygon and Petrobras’ right of preference in the sharing auctions.

The Infrastructure Committee approved on Tuesday the opinion of the committee’s president, Senator Marcos Rogério (PL/RO).

The bill was included in the committee’s agenda at the end of April, but was withdrawn in May at the request of the PT leader in the Senate, Rogério Carvalho (SE).

The text now goes to the Economic Affairs Committee for analysis. The bill was authored by former senator José Serra (PSDB) and was brought back into the debate after the opposition requested that it be unarchived in 2023.

In practice, if the changes are approved, the government will have the freedom to auction more areas in the Campos and Santos Basins under the concession model, which is more attractive to the market.

The concession can also benefit revenue, as it enables the contracting of smaller assets that would not be profitable under the sharing model.

The sharing regime was created during President Lula’s second term and is a topic dear to the PT.

The model created the pre-salt polygon, an arbitrary limit for offering areas exclusively under this type of contract.

Initially, Petrobras would be the leader of all consortiums, with at least a 30% stake, but the rule was only valid for the first round of Libra (2013), now the Mero field.

Under the government of Michel Temer (MDB), the model was changed and Petrobras lost its exclusivity. In return, it now has the freedom to choose in which blocks it wants to secure a minimum share of 30%.

In parallel with the discussion about the future of the polygon in the Senate, the government is moving forward with the next sharing auction, using the permanent offer mechanism.

Thirteen blocks will be available to the market, six in the Campos Basin and seven in the Santos Basin.
The model for the notice and contracts was released by the ANP in May.