Brazil’s Senate passed a bill that could strip Petrobras of its role as sole operator of the country’s pre-salt fields.
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Image of José Serra, from Senado Federal Flickr. |
Yesterday, (24 February) the members of the Senate voted 40 to 26 in favor of the bill that was originally proposed by Senator José Serra. The bill will now go to the Brazil’s house of representatives.
Under current law, which was passed in 2010, Petrobras must act as the sole operator of the pre-salt fields with at least 30% stake, and is responsible for conducting and executing, directly or indirectly, all activities of exploration, appraisal, development and production.
Serra is proposing the end of exclusivity of Petrobras without removing the preference of the state, noting that the company is experiencing financial difficulties, with a debt of US$126 billion ($500 billion BRL), in addition for the ultimate goal of the bill to be to said strengthen Petrobras.
The president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, said that the change serves the national interest in order to attract investment.
Senator José Agripino said that there is a need for incentives for competitiveness with Petrobras, who dominates the technology of oil and gas exploration in deepwater.
Earlier this month, Petrobras discovered oil in the giant Libra field, located in the pre-salt Santos basin, following a further discovery in the same field in October.
In addition, Petrobras started production this month from the Cidade de Maricá floating production storage offloading unit (FPSO), in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin.
Read more:
Petrobras discovers more Libra pay
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