Pre-Salt Proposal Unleashes Debate In Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO- On August 31, President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil announced his government’s intentions for a new fiscal and regulatory framework for what is generally referred to as the Pre-Salt hydrocarbon basin off Brazil’s Atlantic coast. Lula proposed four bills to Congress aimed at overhauling regulations of the country’s oil and gas industry and unleashed a debate over the Pre-Salt that is white hot within Brazil and across the energy world.
Against this backdrop, and with the aim of fostering an international public policy discussion of the various elements of the proposed legislation and Brazil’s energy panorama the Institute of the Americas organized a one-day roundtable in Rio de Janeiro on October 22nd.
While the legislation contains many critical elements, the focus of discussions at the Institute roundtable were on the “new model” vis-à-vis investment rules and the transition from a concession structure to production sharing agreements; the creation of a new federal entity, Petro-Sal, tasked with contractual and administrative duties in the Pre-Salt; the social fund that would capture the increased windfall controlled by the government to be spent on poverty reduction, education, science and technology, and culture; and, perhaps most importantly, the role ascribed to Petrobras.
A net effect of the new framework, likely to be approved by the Brazilian Congress, will be to diminish the role of private participation in exploration and production in the Pre-Salt basin and increase that of state-owned Petrobras. This will be a major change for Petrobras which has often been seen as a model for public-private collaboration since its partial privatization in 1997. The Government of Brazil has emphasized that it will respect all current contracts.
Increased attention on Brazil’s energy sector dates to before the Pre-Salt, but it was the November 2007 announcement of the massive Tupi oil field discovery -- the Western Hemisphere’s largest in 30 years -- that sharpened the spotlight on the potential for oil and gas development in Brazil. Indeed, most analysts tend to agree that the Pre-Salt discoveries will catapult Brazil into the midst of the world’s top-ten reserve holders. They are currently 17th.
As the intense discussion and myriad opinions set forth at the Institute’s roundtable underscore, the potential for the Pre-Salt and the new model unveiled by the Lula government assure the topic a place at the forefront of hemispheric energy policy discussions. Presentations
Davidow speaks at Group of 50 meeting in Madrid
MADRID - Institute President Jeffrey Davidow shared a panel in Madrid on October 15 with former InterAmerican Development Bank President Enrique Iglesias, currently head of the Madrid-based Secretaria General IberoAmericana, and Jose Juan Ruiz, director of research for Latin America for Banco Santander.
The occasion was a meeting of the Group of 50, a private organization of Latin American business leaders. Other attendees at the panel session which dealt with international perspectives of the Latin American scene included the G-50 Chairman Moises Naim, Editor of Foreign Policy Managazine, and Spanish Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon y Grecia.
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Dec. 3, 2009
Huichol Folk Art Presentation
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Institute of the Americas, UCSD campus, La Jolla, California Directions
FREE event but registrations are requested register here Institute members only
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The Institute of the Americas unveils a magnificent Huichol yarn painting entitled, “The History, Gods, Myths, Rituals and Future of the Huichol Indians,” on indefinite loan from Dr. Eugene Garfield, one of the world’s foremost collectors of Huichol folk art.
This cultural event will feature a presentation on the culture of Mexico’s Huichol Indians and on the traditions which make their art unique.
Brief presentations by:
Dr. Eugene Garfield, Past President, American Society for Information Science & Technology
Olga A. Vásquez, Associate Professor, Department of Communications at UCSD and Huichol Art Specialist
Maximino González, a Huichol Indian who will speak about his culture
May 11 & 12, 2010
XIX Annual Latin American Energy Conference
The La Jolla Conference
La Jolla, CA
Recognized as the most significant meeting of its kind, the La Jolla Conference annually convenes the most influential players from across the hemisphere and globe. Last year's conference included presentations by the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, as well as senior executives from Chevron, CAF, Ecopetrol, PEMEX, AES, GDF SUEZ, Gran Tierra, among others.
