Roberto Castello Branco, president of Petrobras, declared that measures have not been effective in recent years and do not contribute to the pursuit of efficiency
When participating in an event, this Tuesday (20/08), at the Brazilian Petroleum Institute (IBP), the president of Petrobras, Roberto Castello Branco, declared that he is in favor of the end of the sharing regime that is currently mandatory for the exploration and production of oil in the pre-salt fields, as well as the end of the local content that obliges the oil companies to meet percentages for contracting materials and equipment in Brazil. In search of cost reductions, Petrobras is going to close its Edinc base in Macaé.
According to him, the measures do not stimulate the search for efficiency and do not collaborate to improve the competitiveness of national industries.
“The so-called pre-salt polygon (area defined by the government that includes the pre-salt fields between the Santos and Campos basins) should be eliminated, and let the government decide in which areas to apply the concession or sharing regime. The sharing regime, as well as local content, removes the stimulus for efficiency, who decides what is best for the company is not its management, but the norms established by bureaucrats. the sharing regime does not lead to efficiency, declared the president of Petrobras.
According to Castello Branco, the ANP has improved the rules, but the local content still influences the oil companies and that in his opinion, if the national industry is competitive, it does not need protection and he added: “If the local industry is good, it does not need anything, no it needs to oblige the oil companies to demand its products. If it isn't efficient after 22 years of the Petroleum Law, it's time to end it, because it didn't do any good. If 22 years wasn't enough for companies to learn something, to be competitive, who didn't prepare, so be it. The oil industry cannot pay for this”.
Cost reduction
With debts around US$ 101 billion, Petrobras continues its cost reduction program. Some offices are being closed and (leased) properties are being handed over.
As happened at Edinc (in Macaé) which is in the process of being demobilized and at Edisp (in São Paulo), which has already been closed, this time, a visit by President Castello Branco to the Petrobras building in Vitória, Espírito Santo, in last Monday, got the president thinking about further cost-cutting.
“It's a beautiful, modern building, I was surprised. We have top people working there, but it costs us R$176 million a year. The building is in the most valued region of Vitória, best technology, glass imported from Belgium, has glass at will, and blinds that close automatically. But that weighs heavily on the cost of the company. Our continuous quest is to reduce costs”, he declared.
The president of Petrobras also recalled that this austere policy is due to the years of assaults by a “criminal organization” that the company has gone through, clearly referring to the cases of corruption revealed by the car wash operation.
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