The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) held, this Thursday (23/06), in Brasília (DF), the second extraordinary meeting of the National Council for Energy Policy (CNPE). The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Mines and Energy, Adolfo Sachsida, Economy, Paulo Guedes, Environment, Joaquim Leite, and the Special Secretary for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, Admiral Flávio Rocha.

Resolutions were approved for deliberation by the President of the Republic, covering the following topics: (i) National Hydrogen Program (PNH2) and its governance; (ii) technical and economic parameters for the bidding, under the production sharing regime, of the Amethyst Block (image), in the ANP Permanent Offer system; and (iii) measures to stimulate the development and production of fields and accumulations of oil and natural gas that present marginal economics.

National Hydrogen Program 

Hydrogen has been seen as a relevant instrument for the global energy transition, contributing to the reduction of emissions. In this sense, the matter has been addressed by the CNPE through Resolution nº 2/2021, which listed hydrogen as one of the priority topics for investment in research and development, and Resolution nº 6/2021, which established the elaboration of a study of guidelines.

Continuing the discussions, the National Hydrogen Program and its governance were approved at today's meeting by the CNPE. The program aims to develop the hydrogen economy in the country, focusing on its use as an energy vector, and is based on three pillars: public policies, technology and market. PNH2 includes six strategic axes: strengthening of scientific and technological bases, training of human resources, energy planning, legal and regulatory-normative framework, market opening and growth and competitiveness, and international cooperation.

The governance of PNH2 includes a management committee that will provide strategic guidelines, which will be implemented through the organization of thematic chambers. With broad participation of public and private actors, the chambers will provide debate among all actors in the sector. After publication of the resolution, the next steps include the organization of meetings of the management committee and thematic chambers, with the presentation of a triennial work plan.

Amethyst Block Bidding 

The CNPE also approved the technical and economic parameters for the bidding for the Amethyst Block, in the Permanent Offer System of the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), under the Production Sharing regime.

The Amethyst Block is located on the continental shelf of the state of São Paulo and partially within the pre-salt polygon, in the Santos Basin.

Previously, through CNPE Resolution No. 26, of December 9, 2021, the CNPE had already approved the bidding for the Esmeralda, Sudoeste de Sagittarius, Bumerangue, Tupinambá, Cruzeiro do Sul, Ágata, Jade, Itaimbezinho, Água Marinha, North of Brava and Tourmaline (map above).

Thus, with the Amethyst Block, the ANP now has 12 blocks available for offer in the Permanent Offer system, under the Production Sharing regime. It is estimated that, depending on the expression of interest of the companies, the offer session of the first cycle of the Permanent Offer, in the Production Sharing Regime, may take place until the end of 2022.

The CNPE resolution, which still needs to be approved by the President of the Republic, establishes for the Amethyst block the value of R$ 1,759,914.00 for the signature bonus and 6.01% as a minimum oil surplus for the Union.

Stimulating the production of oil and gas in Fields and Accumulations with Marginal Economics 

In the interests of the National Energy Policy, measures were approved by the CNPE in line with the objectives of the Program for Revitalization and Incentive to the Production of Maritime Fields (PROMAR), created by CNPE Resolution 10/2020.

The approved resolution recommends that the ANP adopt measures to encourage exploration and production activities in fields and accumulations of oil and natural gas that present marginal economics. In addition, the resolution recommends optimizing the regulatory framework to encourage modernization, reduction of bureaucracy, simplification and regulatory agility, aiming to further increase the attractiveness of the country.

The objective is to have specific rules that are simpler and more adequate for contractual extension of fields of marginal economy and to give more discretion to the ANP in the management of assets without production, in order to ensure their return as quickly as possible.

In addition, it was also proposed that ANP and Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE) present studies related to the environmental compensation of greenhouse gas emissions in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, one of the demands of the sector in PROMAR.