Fiscal Regimes for Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production in Brazil

Abstract

The pre-salt oil province in Brazil was discovered in the Santos and Campos Sedimentary Basins in 2007, with reservoirs containing significant reserves of high quality oil and natural gas. Because of this occurrence, the Brazilian government began a discussion to adopt a new regulatory model for the new exploratory frontier, claiming the need to preserve the national interests in the exploitation of its energy resources. These incidents eventually led to the adoption of the Production Sharing Regime, which currently coexists with the Concession and Onerous Transfer of Rights models.Under the given circumstances, this article seeks to present the current fiscal regimes for the exploration and production activities in Brazil, their particularities and scope of application, as well as to initiate a brief discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the changes recently undertaken by the Brazilian government in its regulatory framework.