The National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) Resolution nº 2 was published today, March 7th, which establishes guidelines for conducting the round of bids under the system of production sharing for volumes exceeding those contracted under the onerous assignment regime, scheduled for October 28. The proposal aims at attracting investment, generating employment, besides representing revenues for the Union and other federative units.

In order to carry out the bidding round under the production sharing regime, Petrobras will be compensated by the auction winners for the investments made in the bidding areas up to the date of signing the production sharing agreement.

In return for the payment of the compensation to Petrobras, the new entrant will become the owner of a percentage of the existing assets in the area in proportion to its participation in the deposit after the signature of the production sharing agreement.

The amount of compensation to Petrobras - paid by the auction winner - will be calculated based on current market parameters, for the deferral of the production of the volume contracted in the onerous assignment regime, resulting from the signing of the production sharing contract, seeking to preserve the interests Union and Petrobras in this operation.

The amounts paid by the new entrant for offsetting that correspond to the participation of the new entrant in the deposit may be recovered as an oil cost.

The agreement to be concluded between Petrobras and the winners shall establish the procedure for the unification of operations for the development and production of hydrocarbons in areas with co-located deposit determining the proportional participation of each contractor in the deposit and the rules for the payment to Petrobras for compensation new entrants, in accordance with rules that will be stipulated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

Based on this CNPE Resolution, simulations will be made with different scenarios to define the signature bonus, minimum percentage of oil profit and compensation to Petrobras due by the winner of the auction, to be assessed at CNPE at the end of March of this year. At the same meeting, the Production Sharing Round of Excess Volumes will be authorized for the Onerous Assignment Contract by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels - ANP.

Excess of assignment onerous: 

Created in 2010, the onerous assignment deals with blocks ceded by the Union to Petrobras to exercise exploration and production rights in pre-salt areas, limited to a maximum volume of 5 billion barrels of oil and natural gas. During the exploration, there were recoverable volumes of hydrocarbons higher than those foreseen in the contract, mainly in the Campos de Atapu, Búzios, Itapu and Sepia, being denominated by excess volumes of the onerous assignment.

This auction will represent a milestone in Brazilian energy policy due to the significant volumes of oil and natural gas in the field and very high productivity of the fields. It has aroused great interest from the world's leading oil companies.