Brazil will present in March 2017, a new E & P and gas policy for the country, replacing the one in force since 2003. Among the main changes under the new model are more flexible rules of local content, the end of the single operator and establishing an auction schedule for the next five years, with at least one event each year. The information was released by the Secretary of Oil, Natural Gas and Renewable Fuels of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Márcio Felix, during the Rio Oil & Gas 2016, which takes place until Thursday (27) at Riocentro, in Rio de Janeiro.

With the new policy, the government has a clear objective: to make Brazil more competitive and thus attract new investments to the country. "We are at a very opportune moment, where we look at the industry spectrum on all fronts in order to find solutions and alternatives for the development (of the entire chain of oil and gas)," said the secretary.

Felix said that by December, will already be presented at the meeting of the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) guidelines for natural gas, local content, unitization and confirmation of the areas to be auctioned next year. "We build solutions that are sustainable and that we survive [current government]. We will have a good solution since 2017 and if it proves effective there will be no reason why the policy does not continue in the coming years, even with another government, "he said.

Felix speech is aligned with the claims of various industry sectors. In the panel that discussed the regulatory advances to leverage the segment's competitiveness, IBP, Abegás, Sindicom and ABESpetro presented their priority agendas. "It is essential that we have the restored competitiveness. We are looking for a new point of equilibrium where all projects must be viable, "said the president of IBP, Jorge Camargo, who pointed to a drop of over 50% in the oil and gas industry revenue in the last three years - US $ 3.2 billion in 2013 to just over US $ 1 billion in 2016 - a result of the country's loss of competitiveness.

The chief executive of Abegás, Augusto Salomon, said that only in the area of gas, about $ 27 billion in investments are locked waiting for regulatory changes that stimulate the sector. The tax issue, he said, is crucial. "Therefore, I appeal to the government to focus efforts to unlock some questions so that we can develop the sector. We have a complex agenda, but needs work. "

The President of the Advisory Council of Sindicom, Leonardo Gadotti, and the president of ABESpetro Jose Firmo, agreed that the recovery of competitiveness is vital for the industry in the current scenario. "We have a country with incredible geological features and challenges with a series of positions at the table. If we can solve the main issues, we will have a very significant recovery. We again have a thriving industry, "Firmo said.