Petrobras this year presented a request for arbitration against the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). As reported on Friday by Valor PRO, the real-time news service of Valor, the dispute may take unprecedented proportions and involves one of the most emblematic areas of the pre-salt exploration region: the Lula field in the Santos Basin. 

Petrobras wants to divide the area into two different fields — Lula and Cernambi —, a move which was denied by the agency on two occasions in 2011. The last time, in August of that year, ANP said that from legal and technical perspectives it had no reason to change its decision regarding the administrative appeal filed by Petrobras, and also pointed out that "the annulment of its decision would mean serious injury to the Brazilian Treasury."