Janio: It's time to fight against the handover of the pre-salt reserves.

247 - Journalist Janio de Freitas, one of the most experienced names in the Brazilian press, denounces a campaign driven by internal and external interests against Petrobras and advocates for a new battle in defense of the pre-salt reserves, just as occurred 60 years ago in the 'the oil is ours' campaign.

That's what he does in the article. 'Keeping an eye on the oil'Published this Sunday in Folha de S. Paulo. "The pressure to remove Petrobras' exclusivity as operator of pre-salt wells is beginning to increase and should soon be very strong. Foreign and Brazilian interests converge in this direction, excited by the simultaneous proof of success in pre-salt exploration and the weakening of the company, with loss of political power and public support. But the ultimate goal of the offensive is for Petrobras to cease having a shareholding (minimum of 30%) in the concessionaires of the wells it operates," it states.

Janio cites the initiative of Senator José Serra (PSDB-SP), who has already presented a bill against Petrobras' exclusivity in the pre-salt layer. "Senator José Serra has already presented a bill to remove Petrobras' operational exclusivity in the wells. He justifies it as a means of speeding up the company's recovery and increasing pre-salt oil production, which, in his view, the state-owned company is not capable of doing: 'If exploration remains dependent on Petrobras, it will not advance.' The justification does not align well with proven reality. But Serra also invokes the fall in the international price of oil as a factor hindering the costs and investments necessary for operations and increased production by Petrobras," points out Janio.

Serra will face resistance in Congress from Senator Roberto Requião (PMDB-PR), who, in an interview with 247, described the project as "total surrender" (read more). hereRequião stated that he intends to publish, through the Senate's printing press, all the information about Brazil already released by WikiLeaks, the website for leaking confidential information created by Australian Julian Assange. "All of Serra's conversations with Chevron are there, in which he promises to open up the pre-salt reserves," he warns.

Both Janio and Requião use the same argument to contest the claim that Petrobras has lost access to international markets and, therefore, must cede control of the pre-salt reserves to foreign firms, such as the American company Chevron."And while Petrobras loses the trust of Brazilians, it gains that of China, which in the middle of the week granted it a US$3,5 billion loan with the stimulating conditions of its Development Bank," says Janio.

The journalist also points out that the Serra Plan would hardly have the support of the military, whose tradition is nationalist – and not submissive.The pre-salt issue raises more questions than it appears. The conditions that have reserved privileged positions for Petrobras did not come solely from technical formulas. Military officials identified strategic factors in the pre-salt reserves that needed to be protected through limitations on the granting of oil field concessions and control over their exploration. The concept of full authority over the pre-salt reserves even led to the very expensive project of the base that the Navy is building in Itaguaí and to the purchase/construction of the nuclear submarine and other projects," he states.

"Sixty years ago, and some more, 'The Oil is Ours' was more than a campaign, it was a battle. Look, the 20th century is back," concludes the journalist.