VZCZCXRO2343 
RR RUEHRG 
DE RUEHRI #0138/01 1571659 
ZNR UUUUU ZZH 
R 051659Z JUN 08 
FM AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4491 
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0832 
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 5153 
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3425 
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 
RHEBAAA/USDOE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIO DE JANEIRO 000138 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC, EB/ESC 
USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/JANDERSEN/ADRISCOLL/MWAR D 
USDOE FOR CAROLYN GAY AND RHEA DAVIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG EPET EIND EINV BR
SUBJECT: Brazil Considers Changing Energy Sector Rules 
 
REF: A) RIO DE JANEIRO 91 B) RIO DE JANEIRO 35 C) 07 SAO PAULO 0953 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified - Please Protect Accordingly 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Brazil is considering changes to its oil sector for the 
purpose of capturing more revenue from the country's significant 
newfound "pre-salt" oil reserves. Brazil's National Energy Policy 
Council will meet later this year to decide how to proceed. 
Meanwhile, further leasing of offshore exploration blocks has been 
suspended. There are two competing proposals being considered -- 
maintain the current concession model and increase royalties, or 
nationalize petroleum reserves and use production sharing agreements 
to partner with oil companies to develop them. Both options would 
yield similar revenue levels for the government, but political 
factors will be the driving force behind the decision on a way 
forward. The issue has become highly politically charged in recent 
months, with some government officials making public nationalistic 
comments. On the ground, energy officials and Petrobras 
representatives are noticeably hesitant to discuss the issue with 
outsiders. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Brazil is likely to change its rules for the oil sector 
later this year, with the goal of raising the amount of revenue the 
government receives from the oil industry. In the current 
concession system, foreign companies have rights to the oil in the 
ground and compensate the government for taking the resources via 
royalties. Because Brazil has recently discovered significant 
pre-salt offshore reserves (Refs A and C), there is consensus among 
government officials that Brazil needs to raise its take from 
industry. What is unresolved is how to accomplish this. 
 
¶3. (U) Brazil currently charges a lower tax and royalty rate than 
many other oil producers. This is a legacy from the late 1990s when 
the country was a net oil importer and wanted to attract companies 
to explore and find new deposits. After the recent discoveries, 
industry says that Brazil has every right to raise its take given 
that it is one of the few promising frontiers in global oil 
exploration. However, industry representatives hope the government 
does not go too far, wait too long, or apply new rules to existing 
contracts. 
 
THE SIMPLE SOLUTION? INCREASE ROYALTIES. 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Currently, companies that produce oil and gas in Brazil pay 
a 10 percent fixed royalty rate. On top of that, they pay an 
additional "special participation rate" for large fields ranging 
between 10-40 percent of revenue depending on the volume, location, 
depth and age of the field. State governments levy even more taxes 
(rates vary by state). In total, Brazil collects between a maximum 
of 57-62 percent in oil royalties for large fields. In comparison, 
Russia and Kazakhstan take around 70 percent. Some governments take 
as high as 80 percent. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP), the country's 
oil regulatory agency, is working on a proposal which it plans to 
present to the government's National Energy Policy Council at the 
end of June. It will likely propose a hike in the special 
participation rate to somewhere between 40-60 percent. The 
Brazilian Petroleum Institute (IBP), Brazil's main oil industry 
group, supports ANP's proposal and actually contracted an 
independent study to demonstrate that the government could capture 
as much revenue by raising the special participation rate as it 
could by changing to a production sharing model (the competing 
proposal). The benefit of this approach, argues IBP, is that the 
rate increase could be handled relatively simply by a Presidential 
decree. Industry representatives at a May 13 luncheon with visiting 
Director of the Minerals Management Service, Randall Luthi, also 
privately confirmed their support for the ANP proposal. 
 
RETHINKING PRIVATIZATION: PRODUCTION SHARING AGREEMENTS 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6. (U) Petrobras, however, which currently produces more than 95 
percent of Brazil's oil, would be the hardest hit by such a hike in 
the special participation rate. If the rate were to rise to 60 
percent of revenue and applied to existing contracts, for example, 
the company would have to pay an additional US$4.1 billion -- more 
than double what it pays in special participation now. For this 
reason, some in Petrobras are pushing for a new regime altogether. 
Guillherme Estrella, Petrobras' Director for Exploration and 
Production, has been the chief proponent for a production sharing 
regime. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Under a production sharing regime, Brazil would have to 
nationalize the country's petroleum resources by an act of Congress. 
The Brazilian government would legally own all of the country's 
petroleum resources, and then partner with oil companies who would 
assume the costs of exploration and production in exchange for a 
share of the revenue. Production-sharing basically shifts the 
ownership of oil from companies to the government, and inverts the 
flow of payments between the government and companies. Exxon 
executives visited Embassy Brasilia in April specifically to express 
their concerns about this model and a few others that were rumored 
to be under consideration. It was their view that the production 
sharing regime would be a disincentive to private industry. 
 
¶8. (U) Such a regime change would be very complicated, which is why 
many see this as an unlikely outcome. First, Brazil takes great 
pride in the openness of its petroleum industry. Nationalization 
would be considered a very serious political statement. Second, in 
today's political climate, there is little confidence in the 
Brazilian Congress and any such legislation that it might pass. 
Third, production sharing requires that Brazil have a 100 percent 
state-owned company to manage the petroleum resources. 
 
¶9. (U) While Petrobras used to be a wholly state-owned company, 63 
percent of the company's shares are now publicly traded. It would 
be impossible for the company to revert. One idea under 
consideration is to use the Energy Research Corporation (Empresa de 
Pesquisa Energetica -EPE), the Rio-based strategic planning arm of 
the Ministry of Mines and Energy. In fact, EPE President Mauricio 
Tolmasquim is said to be currently participating in many 
petroleum-related meetings not historically in EPE's portfolio. 
 
TIMING OF OUTCOME IMPORTANT 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Regardless of outcome, international industry sees oil 
exploration in Brazil as a lucrative venture and is eager to get 
into the pre-salt game. However, it fears that it may have to wait 
two or three years before getting the opportunity to bid on new 
exploration opportunities since offshore oil lease auctions have 
been suspended since the pre-salt discoveries were confirmed in 
November 2007. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Some industry representatives think that Petrobras is 
pushing production sharing with the primary objective of stalling 
the National Energy Policy Council's deliberations. This would give 
Petrobras more time to pull together resources to bid competitively 
on more pre-salt blocks. By many accounts, Petrobras is not 
currently well positioned to win prime blocks in an open auction 
against international oil companies such as Exxon and domestic 
newcomer OGX. 
 
¶11. (U) For its part, ANP wants to resume oil lease auctions as 
soon as possible. It realizes that its very existence is dependent 
on an open and competitive sector. ANP hopes to offer its next bid 
round sometime in 2009, possibly as early as the first quarter if 
the National Energy Policy Council accepts the ANP royalty increase 
proposal. 
 
¶12. (U) ConGen Rio de Janeiro will continue to follow this issue 
closely and report on further developments. This cable has been 
coordinated with and cleared by Embassy Brasilia. 
 
MARTINEZ