Petrobras to get compensated for transfer of rights deal

Brazil's Petrobras is the creditor in renegotiations with the federal government regarding the transfer of rights of oil and gas pre-salt volumes, energy minister Fernando Coelho Filho (pictured) said.

"Petrobras will probably receive an amount, and this is what we have to define," he said according to local newspaper Valor Econ�mico. After that, it remains to be seen how much the government will receive.

Signed in 2010, the transfer of rights deal set Petrobras a 5Bboe production cap for seven ultra-deepwater fields in the Santos basin in exchange of a vast payment to the government.

The agreement called for a posterior renegotiation of values after the declaration of commerciality of the areas, which has already happened. Petrobras claims it must be reimbursed as oil prices have fallen since then.

This process is necessary for the government to auction off the surplus volumes in the region, which could demand vastly more investments to be developed.