Published in 05/03/2018

An unprecedented fact in the country, Pré-Sal Petróleo performed the first sale of the Federal Government share of oil in the Pre-Salt Polygon. 500 thousand barrels of oil were sold to Petrobras, extracted from the Area of Development of the Mero field, under the Libra Production Sharing Agreement. The negotiation was made directly by Pré-Sal Petróleo, a company linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and administrator of the sharing contracts, and it refers to two loads of the platform-ship Pioneiro in the Libra field, set to embark in March and April of 2018.

"This sales operation of the Federal Government's oil is the first concrete result of the sharing model in Brazil. The resources collected will be directed to the Social fund and to the areas of basic education and health. Society, therefore, is a direct beneficiary of this sale", commented Ibsen Flores, president of Pré-Sal Petróleo.

In this first one-off sale (spot,in the jargon of the industry), the load was offered, in a competitive process, to companies of the sector that had the necessary logistics capacity. Petrobras offered the best price and was declared the winner. According to Ibsen Flores, up to June of this year, a new offer is expected to go onto the market for the sale of a further 500 thousand barrels of Mero oil. For the second semester, the expectation is that the commercialization of oil from the Sapinhoá and Lula fields will also begin.

By law, Pré-Sal Petróleo can commercialize the Federal Government's oil and natural gas directly or through the contracting of a broker. The company intends to operate with the two models, opting for the alternative that results in the best economic result for the Federal Government.

This year, the Federal Government expects to raise R$ 1 billion with the operations generated by Pré-Sal Petróleo - the commercialization and financial conciliation to be performed in the Sapinhoá Field (technically called Equalization of Expenses and Volumes). This conciliation is performed based on the assessment of the revenues accumulated from the Union’s share, since the beginning of the activities in the Sapinhoá Field, deducting the portion relating to the costs incurred in the exploration and implementation of this production project.

Created four years ago, Pré-Sal Petróleo is responsible for the management of all the sharing contracts (currently seven) in force in Brazil (see table below). There is also expectation of incorporating up to five new contracts from the areas that will be offered in the 4^th Production Sharing Round, expected to take place in June 2018.

Pré-Sal Petróleo seeks to be effective in managing these contracts, in which, as administrator, it gives support to the consortium members in the search for the best financial indicators, always respecting the principles of Safety, Environment and Health. The company seeks to maximize the net result, which will have a positive impact on the coffers of the Federal Government with a greater influx of financial resources. This occurs because, under the production sharing regime, the expenses incurred are deducted from the total revenue of the production and the surplus in oil (the so-called oil profit) is divided between the consortium and the Federal Government.

Sharing agreements under the management of Pré-Sal Petróleo

Information for the press:

Andréa Dunningham
(21) 3513-1764 | (21) 99431-2991
andrea.dunningham@ppsa.gov.br