Zarattini: Handing over pre-salt oil reserves to foreigners is a crime against Brazil.

247 - The acting leader of the PT caucus in the Chamber of Deputies, Congressman Carlos Zarattini (SP), described as disastrous and damaging to Brazil the project supported by the Temer government that authorizes Petrobras to sell up to 70% of the non-conceded areas of the pre-salt layer to foreign oil companies.

Authored by Congressman José Carlos Aleluia (DEM-BA), Bill 8939/17, whose urgency was approved this Wednesday (13), is a real scandal and a crime against Brazil, according to Zarattini, as it transfers oil at a bargain price to foreigners without guaranteeing any benefit to the Brazilian people.

Under current legislation (Law 12.276/10), Petrobras is responsible for carrying out research and extraction activities for oil, natural gas, and other fluid hydrocarbons in six pre-salt areas of the Santos Basin; its transfer is expressly prohibited.

Zarattini noted that the Brazilian government ceded 5 billion barrels to Petrobras without bidding, but estimates suggest there are 15 billion barrels in the area. "It's a boon for foreigners, since the deposits were detected by Petrobras and exploration will be risk-free," he said.

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The change in legislation is part of a larger and more serious objective: unlocking the mega-auction of pre-salt oil reserves, which could raise up to US$100 billion, according to government estimates. Zarattini observed that the current government, the result of a coup and the most unpopular in history, lacks the legitimacy to address such strategic issues as the wealth of pre-salt oil. "And we know that the money raised from handing over this wealth will go to waste, not towards national development," said Zarattini, referring to the government's intention to use the resources to balance public accounts, which are spiraling out of control under the current administration.

Zarattini recalled that oil is a source of energy and a driver of national development, a logic that guided the creation of Petrobras by Getúlio Vargas. He criticized the conduct of Temer, former Petrobras president Pedro Parente, and the current president of the state-owned company, Ivan Monteiro, who act only to serve the interests of national and international private groups. He said that gasoline and diesel prices, for example, could be lower, but the current Petrobras management acts to maximize profits.

The congressman recalled that, during the Lula and Dilma governments, the company always made a profit, but within a strategy of defending national interests, to boost development projects while keeping fuel prices stable.

He also said that Petrobras was created to explore natural resources for the benefit of the entire population. "But handing it over to foreigners means the opposite – helping oil companies from other countries, which don't even buy equipment in Brazil, preferring to acquire it in Singapore, China, and other countries." The Brazilian shipbuilding industry had 80 employees, but, after two years of the Temer coup government, that number fell to 8.

The acting leader of the PT observed that the logic adopted by Temer is to always favor the minority American shareholders of the state-owned company and foreigners in general, without any commitment to the Brazilian population and national sovereignty.

*With information from the PT in the Chamber.