08 Mar 2010 - by PreSalt.com - Source: Agência Brasil
Brazil - The four legal consultants of the Senate, two lawyers and two economists, who have made a detailed analysis of the bills to regulate the exploiration of oil in the pre-salt (sub-salt) layer, say there are flaws in the bill 5938/2009 establishing the sharing scheme in place of concessions.
Specifically, the experts listed in the study "Assessment of the Proposed Regulatory Framework of Pre-Salt", does not reflect the official position of the Legislative Advisory of Senate, points left to regulation by the government for contracts to be prescribed by law.
The bill does not specify, for example, if the cost of oil may or may not include depreciation and, if so, what the annual rate to be applied. By the project, the criteria for sharing, including the calculation of the cost of oil will be made by the National Energy Policy Conuncil (CNPE). The Institution, in this case, you may receive proposals from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Another "serious failure" listed in the project is, according to experts of the Senate, in the absence of a forecast of maximum percentage of oil that will be delivered to the contractor as the cost of oil. Moreover, the bill does not establish the minimum of oil to be delivered to the Union.
"The granting of full powers to the National Energy Policy Conuncil (CNPE) to establish such criteria, renders the power of the legislature and creates the possibility that contracts are negotiated that are not of interest to the Union," says the legislative consultants.
They warn that "it would be of extreme importance" to fix the roof of recoverable costs and consequently, to the cost of oil, which should not exceed 60% of all oil extracted. The legal advisers consider that there is no obstacle "to the embrace of the rule of maximum ceiling" with the system of royalties on production sharing.
If Congress did not set a ceiling for the cost in oil as an alternative would have set higher tax rates for royalties, at levels, for example, which could vary between 15% and 30%.
The study points to the absence of a schedule of payments to the government. The experts argue that most of the cost of production occurs at the stage of exploration. They add that the bill only puts the Ministry of Mines and Energy may propose to the National Energy Policy Conuncil (CNPE) "criteria and maximum percentage of annual production for the payment of the cost in oil."
The consultants also point out that the government's proposal does not specify whether the cost to be deducted refers to the well, block or the whole area of pre-salt. They question, for example, if the consortium to drill an area and not finding oil, the costs incurred in this area may be deducted from the oil found in other| < Prev | Next > |
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