Sudene approves incentives for Petrobras’ oil and gas production in SE

In a meeting on the afternoon of this Tuesday, 23rd, the Sudene Board of Directors approved the granting of tax incentives to Petrobras for the implementation of the Sergipe Águas Profundas projects (SEAP I and SEAP II). The company reported an investment of R$20 billion to the Municipality until 2029. The prospect is to generate 6,500 direct jobs during 20 years of production.

The project increases gas supply in Brazil, creating a new frontier in the Northeast. Petrobras is today the largest gas producer in the country, responsible for 66% of national availability. From the exploration of oil and production of associated gas on the coast of Sergipe, it is expected to progressively reduce the need for imports.

“This project has the capacity to considerably expand Brazil’s gas production chain and, more directly, transform Sergipe economically, by attracting new industries and generating jobs and income for the state’s population, with positive impacts also in Alagoas” , highlighted the superintendent of Sudene, Danilo Cabral, during the meeting.

The company presented the request for a 75% reduction in Corporate Income Tax (IRPJ) for the implementation of the project, based on article 14 of the Sudene Deliberative Council Resolution number 143, of December 9, 2020. “This is a possibility that the company has to have recognized the tax benefit, in cases where the enterprise only becomes ready and operationally functioning later. In this case, Sudene recognizes that its claim is within the law, but the benefit is only recognized, giving the right to the report when it is operating and the claim is in a position to be approved”, explained the director of Fund Management and Sudene Tax Incentives, Heitor Freire.

Investments for project development, according to Petrobras, are significant – they are estimated at between R$40 and R$60 billion until the projects are fully completed. And they have the potential to generate approximately R$40 billion in taxes. Petrobras is currently coordinating a tender for the joint contracting of the two platforms planned to produce in the region.

Sergipe Águas Profundas consists of the extraction of oil and non-associated gas in five deposits located in the Cavala, Agulhinha, Agulhinha Oeste, Budião, Budião Noroeste and Budião Sudeste fields, maritime and land gas pipelines, in addition to a delivery point located 23 kilometers away. of the state’s coast. According to Petrobras, more than R$9 billion has already been invested in the project, with the drilling of 30 wells, carrying out 11 tests and a long-term test.

There will be two FPSO-type floating platforms, with capacity to produce 120 thousand barrels of oil per day each and should enter into operation from 2028. One of the platforms will have the capacity to process 10 million cubic meters of natural gas per day and the other , 12 million. In these projects, Petrobras is associated with two main Indian companies operating in oil exploration and production – ONGC Videsh (a subsidiary of the National Oil Company of India) and IBV, a joint venture between Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Videocon Industry.

With information from Sudene