Petrobras will pay R$361 million to a Canadian company to “buy” the shale plant

To sell the only plant exploring shale in the country, Petrobras will transfer a wealth of royalties to F&M Resources. SIX, in Paraná, made an estimated profit of R$200 million in 2020
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Cuts – Despite being the only company exploring shale oil in Brazil, Petrobras has decided to sell, or practically push for delivery, its shale manufacturing unit (SIX), in São Mateus do Sul, Paraná. The plant will be sold to F&M Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Forbes & Manhattan.

This is the decision made by the board of directors of the state-owned company. The meeting, which was held on Thursday (11), called for privatization negotiations. But in reality, you will pay to hand over the heritage of the Brazilians to international groups, he explained Federation of Oil Tankers (FUP).

The calculation is simple. According to Fup’s general coordinator, Deyvid Bacelar, the announced price for the sale of SIX to Canadians yesterday was $33 million. The equivalent of 178.8 million Brazilian riyals. The agreement signed by Petrobras with the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Fuels (ANP) provides for the payment of royalties in the amount of R$540 million. Or about $100 million.

“Let’s go into the calculations,” suggests tanker Ronnie Barbosa, Minister of Communications at CUT Nacional: “540 million R$ minus 178.8 million R$ = 361.2 million R$. Petrobras pays 361.2 million R$ to Canadians to maintain the shale plant. Not Petrobras, Brazilian society,” emphasizes the angry director of more than one strange deal. Along with its affiliated unions, FUP warns that it will fight to prevent the privatization of SIX.

The profit goes away

According to Ronnie Barbosa, the information indicates that the plant made profits of more than 200 million Brazilian reals last year. They will sell for less than a year’s profit. Look at the mess! “, strengthens the leader. “This is another asset of the Brazilian people liquidated at a competitive price,” Basilar added in an interview with Estadão.

Union of Oil Workers of Paraná and Santa Catarina (Sindipetro PR/SC), made a note which classifies the sale as “another crime against the country of managing the Petrobras enclave”.

“The government and state-owned directors’ frenzy in destroying the company is so great that the sale value of SIX is not up to half of what Petrobras will spend in agreement with the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) to settle debts related to non-payment of royalties on shale mining activities during 2002-2012 ‘, an excerpt from the statement states.

“Nothing has been decided upon and the fight against privatization continues,” the memo continues. “Despite the announcement, the sale of SIX has not been completed and the struggle against the delivery of this national heritage will continue.”

Just nonsense

Sindipetro PR/SC highlights that there is still a long way to go until the deal is finally closed. “And the union, along with the entire oil industry, will work on all fronts to prevent the history of the shale plant from being interrupted in its 67 years.”

Oil tankers deplore that, in addition to the unrated price, the contract signed with the Canadians obliges Petrobras to purchase all the naphtha shale produced at the unit for a period of 15 years. In addition, each ballast (strainer tank sludge) is sent for processing in SIX for 12 years. And it still bears specific environmental responsibility, Sindipetro PR/SC deplores.

Guild leaders remember that the mine was loaned out. In other words, after 2034 Petrobras will take on the remaining environmental responsibility. The stuff doesn’t stop there. The contract still obligates the company to lease the unit’s research unit.

Why did you vote against?

“I voted against,” says chief engineer and geophysicist Rosangela Bozanelli Torres, who represents workers on Petrobras’ board. The oil worker says in a text explaining why she voted against the sale of the shale plant.

“In addition to mining and producing oil and shale gas, using its own technology (Petrosix) and which some companies aspire to, SIX has also set up research and development laboratories,” the engineer explains. “I began to process the oily sludge generated in our refining complex in general and produce some derivatives, in synergy with Repar. Currently, the oil shale plant has the largest technology complex in Latin America,” he explains.

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This is the third refinery sold by Petrobras, out of a total of eight for sale as of 2019, the first year of Jair Bolsonaro’s tenure. The state-owned company has until the end of this year to sell the other five refining assets. However, due to time constraints, he will have to ask the Economic Defense Administrative Council (CAED) to extend the deadline. The agency specified the sale of units with the aim of breaking the monopoly of the state-owned company in the sector, according to a report issued by the Council of Ministers. condition.

Petrobras announced the sale of SIX two days after a public hearing promoted by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), the newspaper said. The meeting discussed the collection of fees for oil and gas production from oil shale, which is not part of the law that opened the oil sector in 1997.

After several technical discussions with the National Ports Agency, the state-owned company confirmed its interest in ending the disputes with payment in installments of R$ 559 million (to be updated until the signing of the agreement). Signing a concession contract with a 5% royalty. The amount is half of the company’s debt, which was also challenged by the FUP and other unions.

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