Page 12 - LatAmOil Week 14 2021

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The blocks are ultra-deepwater sites and are Amapá State in 2016.
located about 120 km from the coast of the IBAMA, for its part, says it has not permitted
northern state of Amapá, it said. BP Energy do drilling to go forward because Total and its part-
Brazil acquired stakes in the blocks in 2013, dur- ners have not met requirements with respect to
ing the 11th Bidding Round conducted by the environmental impact studies. It has also urged
National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and the investors to give further consideration to the
Biofuels (ANP), it added. diplomatic and logistical challenges – such as
The deal will allow Petrobras to assume full the need for co-ordinated responses in the event
ownership of the FZA-M-59 block. Equity in the of an oil spill in Foz do Amazonas, which is near
site was originally split 70:30 between BP and Brazil’s border with French Guiana – involved
the NOC, so the latter, which is already serving in such projects.
as operator of the project, is now set to acquire Many officials in Amapá have said they sup-
the former’s 70% share. port plans for oil and gas drilling in the basin.
As for the other five blocks, Petrobras will For example, Lucas Barreto, a senator from the
become the majority shareholder following the state, has urged both ANP and IBAMA not to
completion of the transaction. Equity in FZA- delay Foz do Amazonas projects. Neither agency
M-57, FZA-M-86, FZA-M-88, FZA-M-125 and has said whether the transfer of the blocks to
FZA-M-127 was originally divided as follows: Petrobras might affect its willingness to let work
40% to Total (France), 30% to BP and 30% to go forward. ™
Petrobras.
The state-owned Brazilian company has
already arranged to acquire Total’s stakes in and
operatorship of the blocks, so it will eventually
be the only shareholder.
Petrobras has not revealed the value of the
deal or said when it expects to complete its
acquisition of these six blocks. It is still waiting
for ANP to green-light its deal with Total but
has already secured the agency’s approval for its
acquisition of FZA-M-59 from BP.
Total reportedly opted to quit FZA-M-59
and the other Foz do Amazonas blocks last year
because it had not been able to obtain drilling
permits for seven new wells from IBAMA, Bra-
zil’s federal environmental regulator. The state
agency has attributed its hesitation to concerns
about the environmental risks of drilling in the
sensitive Amazon Delta region.
Greenpeace and other environmental organ-
isations have opposed such efforts ever since the
discovery of coral formations off the coast of Petrobras will eventually take control of all six blocks (Image: Total)

ARGENTINA
Fernandez offers oil companies a new

incentive for raising output, exports

ARGENTINA’S President Alberto Fernandez 15-year investment promotion programme,
has offered local and foreign companies an states that oil operators meeting the condi-
incentive to step up oil production and exports. tions for participation may freely use some of
Earlier this week, Fernandez issued a decree the proceeds of their export sales. In practice,
allowing oil operators to make use of up to 20% however, it does put some constraints on the dis-
of the proceeds from export sales. This opportu- position of this money. Specifically, it stipulates
nity will be open to all companies that make new that export proceeds must be used immediately
investments of at least $100mn, the presidential to pay dividends and settle external debts – or,
administration said in a notice published in the alternatively, deposited in banks in Argentina
Official Bulletin. or another country until it can be used for these
The decree, which marks the debut of a purposes..

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 14 08•April•2021