Petrobras will use the private company regime to contract consortia.

Reuters - Petrobras may use a regime specific to private companies in contracting goods and services for consortia in which it acts as operator, in which case the rule associated with the so-called State-Owned Enterprises Law, which mandates bidding processes, will not apply, according to a decision by the oil company's Board of Directors published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Monday.

The change occurred amid a review of Petrobras' bidding and contracting regulations and was approved at a meeting of the state-owned oil company's Board of Directors on June 26, taking effect on July 2.

According to the newly approved regulation, Petrobras is subject "to the same regime as private companies" for contracting goods and services from consortia operated by it "that aim to meet the exclusive demands of the consortia."

In these cases, the procedure outlined in Law 13.303, the State-Owned Enterprises Law, which stipulates that all contracts must, as a rule, be awarded through public bidding, will not apply.

The law established a 24-month period for adaptation by public companies, mixed-capital companies, and subsidiaries, which means mandatory application starting July 1, 2018.

According to the guideline approved by the Petrobras Board of Directors, contracts for goods and services by the state-owned company "that aim to simultaneously meet the demands of Petrobras and consortia operated by it must follow the regime" defined by the State-Owned Enterprises Law, with bidding.

The order containing the decision of the Petrobras Board was signed by the company's president, Ivan Monteiro, and published in the Official Gazette of the Union by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

By Luciano Costa