Petrobras Opposes Possible Approval of New Local Content Law

Petrobras President Opposes Possible Approval of Bill Setting Minimum Local Content in Oil and Natural Gas Bids.

Once again, Petrobras President Roberto Castello Branco has expressed his opposition to the approval of the bill that establishes minimum local content percentages in bids for oil and natural gas exploration and production blocks.
On August 20, at an event at IBP, Castello Branco Had Already Stated That He Wanted the End of Sharing and Local Content in exploration contracts.

On that occasion, the president of Petrobras stated that recent measures have not been effective in the past years and do not contribute to the pursuit of efficiency. He has now reiterated that if the bill passes through Congress, it would be detrimental to the market and would stifle processes.

Recurring Statement

This most recent statement was made during a meeting with state technicians, the mayor of São José do Norte (RS), Fabiany Zogbi Roig (PSB), and lawmakers such as the president of the Chamber of Deputies Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), Felipe Francischini (PSL-PR), and Deputy Gurgel (PSL-RJ).

One of the meeting participants noted that it is clear that Petrobras opposes the measure, stating, “He understands the importance of the local content issue but believes that it does not necessarily need to be in the law because it creates legal uncertainty, especially for foreign investors. I felt that he is against the bill, just like the entire sector,” the individual declared.

Castello Branco reportedly also requested, during the meeting, that Francischini ask Deputy Júnior Bozella, the project rapporteur in the CCJ, to present a “good report” highlighting the unconstitutionality of the proposal, which should favor the market and economic freedom and help attract investments.

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