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Brazil is on the verge of becoming one of the five largest oil producers over the next decades and Pré-Sal Petróleo is an invaluable agent in achieving the goals provided by the Brazilian government. It was with these words that Bento Albuquerque, the Minister of Mines and Energy, opened his participation at the 2nd Pré-Sal Petróleo Technical Forum held by the company.
In order to justify the relevance of Pré-Sal Petróleo at the current Brazilian oil industry scenario, Albuquerque mentioned the results shown by the company, both as Production Sharing Agreements and Shared Development agreements and the Federal Government''s crude oil production commercialization. "The agreements managed are now 25: 14 Production Sharing Agreements and 11 Shared Development agreements. In 2020, this total shall increase to 28 agreements, with the three new production sharing agreements from the last auction carried out in 2019", informs the minister.
Results, as previously informed, go well beyond: the company shall be accountable for at least R$ 571 million in revenues this year. One of the most recent onerous assignment agreements, for the Búzios area, already has four operating rigs, producing over 400 thousand oil equivalent per day.
When talking about the challenges of the sector, Albuquerque highlighted the maintenance of the multiannual plan for the bidding processes, considering that most of the inner part of the pre-salt polygon were already explored before. According to him, the government is doing its part in amplifying the appeal of field development, upholding agreements through legal security. The next rounds shall include the Atapu e Sépia clusters, which were not bought at the round six auction, in addition to surplus volumes of these fields, "along with any required improvements", he emphasized.
The government is also looking out for possibilities in advancement of exploratory activities beyond the 200 nautical mile mark, the minister informed. "The area offer in this extension of the Brazilian continental shelf shall demand adjustments in our legislation", he says, and added: "The collection of government participations and distribution to the federal entities by oil and gas production beyond such area must be addressed".
According to Albuquerque, the government is also aware of the need for legal security in order to attract investments. "Our path is full of challenges over the next decade, either due to the ongoing offering of high potential and low risk clusters and within the pre-salt polygon or due to the exploration of the area beyond the continental shelf. In order to help us face these challenges, we count on the National Congress, the industry and, particularly, on Pré-Sal Petróleo", concluded the minister, for an audience of around 200 executives.
Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, during a panel at Pré-Sal Petróleo Technical Forum
Credit: Guarim de Lorena