Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

fish around the platforms. He said that the major problem has been fishermen
in their vessels that come after the fish. He said that these vessels sometimes
get in the way of operations. In response to another question about the
impact of the platforms on the seabed in deeper waters, Dr. Viera pointed out
that since the platforms are floating, the only equipment in contact with the
seabed are the Christmas trees.
One participant wanted to know the length of time required to deploy
the pipeline from the vessel to the Christmas tree. Dr. Viera de Macedo said
that he was not sure what the answer is. He suggested that it could be two or
three days.
In view of the number of ordinances relevant to the petroleum
industry that Dr. Viera de Macedo had referred to, another participant wanted
to know if they came under the jurisdiction of a single agency. If not, this
participant wanted to know how investors were facilitated through the
process. It was also pointed out that because of provisions in the regulations
on the Government’s take, that included items such as special participation,
deductions and fees, the overall take of companies would be relatively small
for the operator and investor. In this light, it was suggested that perhaps the
framework is not as competitive and attractive as one might want, in
particular since Petrobras still appeared to be a state monopoly. Dr. Viera de
Macedo was asked what incentives were provided to investors other than
Petrobras, and what the Government of Brazil actually obtained from
operators.
With regard to the ordinances relevant to the petroleum industry, Dr.
Viera de Macedo said that two agencies were involved in the process. These
were ANP and the environmental agency. He said that ANP falls under the
jurisdiction of the Minister of Mines and Energy, and that the environmental
agency was under the Ministry of the Environment. He said that ANP was
responsible for concessionaires.
Dr. Viera de Macedo reiterated that Petrobras is no longer a monopoly. He
said that there had been two rounds of bidding since the new law entered into
force. He pointed out that several companies entered bids in both rounds. In
2000, for example, Dr. Viera de Macedo said that 44 companies submitted
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 847