Petrobras no longer sole operator for pre-salt oil as of Friday auction

Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente said that the next round of shared-production auctions slated to be held by national watchdog for oil, natural gas, and biofuels ANP on Friday (27) will serve to show that the government did well in making it no longer mandatory for Petrobras to be sole operator in the exploration and production of pre-salt oil. Parente spoke at a lunch held Wednesday (Oct. 25) as part of the Offshore Technology Conference, attended by executives in the oil sector in Rio.

“I'm sure we'll see Friday how right the government was in taking this measure,” Parente said. “Petrobras wouldn't be capable, wouldn't have the conditions to develop all of the fields to be offered in the auction on Friday by itself,” he added.

The CEO argued that deepwater drilling must be accelerated in order to boost funds for all sectors of the government and society.

“It was a crucial effort for the country. It was good for Petrobras, but really good for the country, in the attempt to profit from the funds we have, or they'd be kept in deep water, not allowing Brazilians to take advantage of it.”

ANP will hold the second and third shared-production rounds next Friday, with blocks being auctioned in three different areas. The watchdog expects offers in all areas, and, in some cases, fierce competition.

A decree signed by President Temer in May outlined the changes mentioned by Parente. They were submitted to Congress for vote and turned into law with no vetoes last year.

The new rules made it no longer mandatory for Petrobras to be the sole operator in Brazilian pre-salt exploration, in addition to granting the oil firm preemptive rights in consortiums for the exploration and production of blocks under a shared-production regime.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira