Aepet warns of "yet another act of treason plotted in Congress"
The Association of Petrobras Engineers (Aepet) emphasizes that "while Brazilians are distracted by the World Cup, Congress is rushing to approve yet another act of treason against Brazil and against Petrobras"; the institution referred to the bill by Congressman José Carlos Aleluia (DEM-BA), which allows Petrobras to hand over up to 70% of its pre-salt reserves to multinational companies.
247 The Association of Petrobras Engineers (Aepet) emphasizes that "while Brazilians are distracted by the World Cup, Congress is rushing to approve yet another act of treason against Brazil and against Petrobras." The institution referred to the bill proposed by federal deputy José Carlos Aleluia (DEM-BA), which allows Petrobras to hand over up to 70% of its pre-salt reserves to multinational companies.
"According to engineer and consultant Paulo César Ribeiro Lima, Bill No. 8.939 of 2017 includes a paragraph in Article 1 of Law No. 12.276/2010 to allow Petrobras to negotiate and transfer ownership of the Onerous Assignment Contract, provided that a minimum participation of 30% is preserved," says Aepet. "This proposal is a blatant affront to Article 4 of Law No. 12.276/2010 itself and to the Contract itself, which unequivocally establish that only Petrobras will be the assignee. It was on the basis of this exclusivity that the Onerous Assignment Contract was signed with the Union. Thus, there would be a breach of contract," he adds.
According to the entity, "it should also be added what paragraph 6 of article 1 of Law No. 12.276/2010 says: '§ 6 The assignment referred to in the caput is non-transferable.' Thus, the premises contained in the Onerous Assignment Contract entered into were based on this Law, which unequivocally established advantageous conditions exclusively for Petrobras."
"Since a large part of the units from the onerous transfer agreement are already contracted and will come into operation in the short term, producing oil with very high profitability, it is concluded, therefore, that it lacks any logic for Petrobras to transfer ownership of these areas, as proposed by Bill No. 8.939 of 2017," it continues.
According to Aepet, "the essence of the onerous transfer of rights – that the Union generates benefits for Petrobras – would be undermined if the state-owned company were to take advantage of such an advantageous regime to partially sell ownership of the areas."
"Therefore, Bill No. 8.939 of 2017 violates the very essence of Law No. 12.276/2010, represents a breach of the Onerous Assignment Contract, and has no merit whatsoever. On the contrary, this proposal is, in fact, an affront to the public interest. In short, it transfers the advantages offered to Petrobras to multinational companies."
Check out Full technical analysis He holds an engineering degree from UFMG, a Master's degree from UFRJ, and a PhD from Cranfield University, England. He is a consultant in Mining and Energy for the legal team at Garcez Law Firm.