Government sells 55 million barrels of pre-salt oil for R$ 25 billion

PPSA (Pré-Sal Petróleo SA) sold this Friday (26) 55 million barrels of pre-salt oil that belong to the Union. At current prices, the auction represents a collection of R$ 25 billion for the federal government within five years.

Petrobras took all four lots offered. In two of them, he played on speakerphone with the Chinese CNODC. In the other two, with the French company Total. The oil will be produced in the Búzios, Sapinhoá, Tupi and Mero fields.

The winning bids were those that agreed to pay the highest premium, in reais per cubic meter, over the reference price calculated monthly by the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels) for the oil in each field.

“We are extremely happy with the result,” said the CEO of PPSA, Eduardo Gerk. “These excellent results achieved will be reverted to the benefit of society, as these resources will enter the Treasury account.”

The state-owned PPSA is responsible for representing the Union in oil production contracts in the pre-salt, which respect a contract known as production sharing, which gives the government a share in the extracted oil.

This Friday’s auction was the third held by the company, which so far raised R$ 2.3 billion from the sale of oil. With the contracts of the last competition, the company considers that it has resolved the sale of all the Union’s production by the end of 2023.

PPSA is still studying the possibility of hiring a private agent to sell the Union’s share of pre-salt production to avoid the need for auctions. The decision, however, still depends on internal evaluations.

In the next ten years, the revenue from the sale of the Union’s oil in the pre-salt should add up to US$ 116 billion (R$ 650 billion) between 2022 and 2031, according to estimates by the PPSA. The projection considers the contracts in force and the Atapu and Sépia fields, which will be tendered by the government on December 17th.

According to the study, over the next ten years, 8.2 billion barrels of oil should be produced under a production-sharing system, says the company. By 2031, the average daily production of all contracts will be approximately 3.5 million barrels per day.

The PPSA study estimates that by 2031 the production sharing contracts will generate revenues of US$ 285 billion (R$ 1.6 trillion).

In addition to the sale of oil, this amount includes the payment of US$92 billion (R$515 billion) in royalties and US$77 billion (R$82 billion) in Corporate Income Tax and Social Contribution on Net Income .

For the development of activities in the pre-salt, says the PPSA, investments of US$ 99 billion (R$ 554 billion) are planned until 2031. In all, the state-owned company estimates the contracting of 27 platform ships and 416 producing wells.