Brazil Government Could Raise Petrobras Stake Above 50% - Estado
September 23 2009 - 12:40PM
Dow Jones News
Brazil could increase its stake in Petrobras (PBR) if the
company's capital were increased, according to the head of the
country's oil regulator, the Estado News Agency reported
Wednesday.
The government's stake in Petrobras could increase to "50% to
55%" from its current level of 32%, said Haroldo Lima, president of
Brazil's oil regulator, the National Petroleum Agency, or ANP.
Lima said that, in order to raise Petrobras capital, the
government had decided upon a means of authorizing the company to
exploit an area of five billion barrels of oil in the sub-salt area
in exchange for shares in the company.
"As a result, one perhaps could increase the federal
government's stake in Petrobras," he said.
Brazil's sub-salt area has estimated reserves of between five
and eight billion barrels of oil.
Lima pointed to Norway as an example of where the government has
more than a 50% share in its state oil company, StatoilHydro A/S
(STO).
The ANP president also said the fact that 60% of Petrobras
shares are in private hands meant the government considered the
company to be an inappropriate choice to represent it in consortia
exploring sub-salt oil.
Lima said this was the reason why the group working on Brazil's
new oil law decided to create a special company, Petro-sal, for the
reserves.
The new company would have 100% state capital and would act as
the "eye" of the government on consortia.
The role of Petro-sal, Lima said, would include checking that
production costs presented by the consortia were correct, so that
the state receives its just share of oil revenue.
The ANP president also said that Petrobras' guaranteed 30% stake
in oil exploration in new areas referred to the part where
consortia operated and not the whole sub-salt area.
In an auction where a consortium wins a bid offering 60% of oil
to the state, then the 30% due to Petrobras would be levied on the
40% that the consortium has, Lima said.
-By John Kolodziejski, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6086;
John.Kolodziejski@dowjones.com