Today, Friday (05/04), at 11am, the ANP and Petrobras signed the agreement that closes the controversy involving the areas of the Parque das Baleias. The agreement was signed by the director general of the ANP, Décio Oddone, and the president of Petrobras, Roberto Castello Branco. The ceremony was held at the Anchieta Palace in Vitória, Espírito Santo, with the presence of the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, and the governor of Espírito Santo, Renato Casagrande.

According to the agreement, the new outline of the Jubarte Field - which will be called "New Jubarte Field" - will be formed by the areas of Jubarte, Blue Whale, Whale Free, parts of Cachalote and Pirambu, in the Campos Basin.

ANP and Petrobras reached an agreement on the base date for the payment of special participation (PE) differences on the production of the new Jubarte Field and other development areas at Parque das Baleias, which will be the fourth quarter of 2016.

The special participation (PE) differences for payment purposes are approximately R $ 3.6 billion, with a cash payment of R $ 1.5 billion, with the remainder being paid in 42 months. And for the next 20 years, it is estimated (based on the expected production curve, current oil price and exchange rates, investments and operating costs) for a forecast of approximately R $ 25.8 billion in nominal values (R $ 18.6 billion brought to present value at the discount rate of 10% pa). These amounts, by Law, will be allocated to the Union (50%), States (40%) and Municipalities (10%).

In view of the new investments planned, the ANP approved the extension of the production phase of Novo Campo de Jubarte for 27 years to 2056 (initially, it would end in 2029), subject to the signing of the agreement.

With the conclusion of the proposed agreement, Petrobras and ANP understand that all the processes, as well as possible actions, resources and procedures, even administrative ones, that deal with its object lose their effect.

Agreement history

Parque das Baleias includes the areas under development of the Baleia Anã, Baleia Azul, Baleia Franca, Cachalote, Caxaréu, Mangangá, Pirambu and the Jubarte field, originated from the BC-60 block in the Campos Basin. ANP Resolution 69/2014 determined the unification of these areas, except for the Mangangá Field, to the Jubarte field.

After this Resolution, Petrobras challenged RD No. 69/2014 and instituted arbitration proceedings before the International Chamber of Commerce, as provided for in the concession agreement, and the Arbitral Tribunal was constituted to decide the matter.

On 03/07/2018, ANP and Petrobras requested the Court, by mutual agreement, to suspend the arbitration procedure and intensified agreements for a possible reassessment of the merits of the matter to a convergence based on technical criteria.

Based on the meetings held between ANP and Petrobras since the suspension of the arbitration in July 2018, Minutes of Agreement were prepared together to close the controversy.

In December 2018, the ANP's board approved the draft agreement to close the controversy, put on a public consultation for 45 days, in order to make the process transparent and allow suggestions to be made by the parties involved, such as government representatives , prefectures, economic agents and other interested parties.

On February 14, 2019, a public hearing was held on the subject and, on February 22, Petrobras formally informed the ANP of its agreement with the submission of the draft approval for the AGU and the MME.

On March 25, and on April 4, 2019, the Minister of Mines and Energy and the Attorney General of the Union, respectively, authorized the conclusion of the agreement between ANP and Petrobras to close the controversy involving the areas of Parque das Baleias .