Page 11 - LatAmOil Week 09 2023

LatAmOil GUYANA LatAmOil

It did so following the completion of the integra- gas and will have a water-injection capacity of
tion of the topside modules, riser and mooring 250,000 bpd. It will be moored in 1,900-metre-
structures and onshore commissioning. SBM deep water and will be capable of storing 2mn
Offshore’s local team is slated to install the vessel barrels of crude oil.
at the Payara oilfield once it arrives in Guyanese SBM Offshore is also progressing with the
waters, and production will begin in late 2023. fabrication of topsides modules for the ONE
The Prosperity FPSO is designed to han- GUYANA, the FPSO vessel that will be used
dle up to 220,000 barrels per day of crude oil to support development work at Yellowtail,
and will also be able to treat 400mn cubic feet another field at Stabroek. Yellowtail is expected
(11.3mn cubic metres) per day of associated to reach the stage of first oil in late 2025. ™

BRAZIL
Brazil gears up for gradual re-introduction

of federal taxes on gasoline, ethanol

BRAZIL’S Finance Ministry said on February debates over Petrobras’ fuel pricing policies.
27 that the government will re-introduce federal Lula has long been critical of the NOC’s practice
taxes on motor fuels this year in several stages, of linking domestic petroleum product costs to
using a new formula that is anticipated to raise world market prices.
BRL28.8bn ($5.51bn) in budget revenues, Argus Gleisi Hoffmann, the leader of Lula’s Workers
Media reported. Party, had argued on February 24 that Petrobras
The ministry made an announcement to this ought to change its fuel pricing policy before the
affect after a meeting at the Planalto Palace in government re-introduced taxes on petroleum
Brasilia between President Luiz Inacio Lula da products. But in practice no changes to the pol-
Silva, Chief of Staff Rui Costa, Finance Minister icy can made until Petrobras elects a new board
Fernando Haddad and Jean Paul Prates, CEO of of directors in April.
the national oil company (NOC) Petrobras. The re-introduction of motor fuel taxes is
The ministry did not provide details on the expected to help Brazil’s government control
impending policy change, such as the exact inflation and address the country’s budget defi-
rate rises taxpayers might expect or the per-li- cit. But Argus Media noted that Brazil’s primary
tre increase in the cost of gasoline and ethanol, deficit is slated to hit BRL230bn ($44.02bn) this
Argus Media said. It did indicate, though, that it year. It also quoted Andre Braz, an economist
was taxing fossil fuels at higher rates to uphold with the Getulio Vargas Foundation, as saying
environmental pledges that the left-leaning that inflation could rise by an estimated 0.75%
president made during his campaign in 2022. in March as a result of the policy shift.
Lula’s opponent, the right-leaning former Meanwhile, the Brazilian Association of Fuel
president Jair Bolsonaro, had backed a different Importers (ABICOM) has said that ending the
revenue-generating measure – namely, the PIS/ tax break will raise the price of gasoline by about
Cofins exemption, which covered gasoline and BRL0.69 ($0.13) per litre and the price of eth-
anhydrous ethanol – during his re-election cam- anol by BRL0.24 ($0.046) per litre. The higher
paign before the presidential elections in Octo- tax rates will not apply to diesel and cooking gas
ber 2022. This policy was approved by Brazil’s (LPG), as exemptions for these fuels are guar-
National Congress in June 2022 and was sched- anteed to remain in place until December 31,
uled to expire on December 31, 2022. 2023. ™
Upon taking office on January 1, Lula’s cab-
inet pushed the end date for the PIS/Confins
exemption back to February 28. Within the
government, the president’s political supporters
have backed this move, calling it a bid to help
control inflation. However, the finance minister
has urged the president to put an end to it to help
the cash-strapped government save money.
The re-introduction of taxes on gasoline and
ethanol could help resolve the impasse between
these two camps and allow Brasilia to recover
all the money it has foregone as a consequence
of the tax waiver. However, it will not resolve Gasoline and ethanol taxes will return (File Photo)

Week 09 01•March•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P11