Comparing Job Markets: Canada and the USA

 In 2008, the Energy Research Office (EPE in Portuguese) conducted several studies on pre-salt law. The study "Aspectos conceituais dos sistemas regulatórios de exploração e produção de petróleo e gás natural e an experiência internacional - Relatório A do Grupo de Trabalho MME-EPE78" is particularly relevant to this thesis. This study examined the E&P regulatory systems of ten HCs: Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Venezuela, and Norway. However, the focus of this study was on analyzing each HC's tax regimes. Foreign regulations influenced the Pre-salt Law's rulemaking process. To help with the development of this Law, ANP, EPE, and BNDES researched the regulations of other producing countries.

In 2007, ANP conducted a comparative analysis of Brazilian E&P contracts and those adopted by the following countries


Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia, and Venezuela, entitled "Models of Contracts for Oil and Natural Gas Exploration and Production: A Critical Analysis of the Brazilian Experience and Selected Countries." ANP also conducted missions to Angola and Russia to learn about these countries' experience in adopting production sharing contracts. According to Bucheb (2007), while the unitization clause has changed throughout the Bidding Rounds, its basic structure has remained consistent in all concession contracts. According to Bucheb, there are three generations of concession contracts: one for the first through fourth rounds, another for the fifth round, and yet another for the sixth round and onward. The most notable differences are in the rule that allows for joint discovery appraisal by neighboring concessionaires, which is present in the Third and Fourth Round contracts, and the rule that requires the signature of a new concession contract, valid only for the unitized area, which is present in the Sixth to Eighth Round contracts. Following the implementation of the Pre-salt Law, the unitization clauses in the concession contract models and production sharing contract models determined, in brief, the observance of the Brazilian legislation in force on this subject.

TLO's influence on unitization rulemaking. Brazilian regulation


This subsection will look at how the rules that integrate the Brazilian regulatory system for unitization, as presented in the previous section, were influenced by the upstream TLO during the rulemaking process. This analysis will use the same regulatory framework as the previous section, focusing on the Petroleum and Pre-salt Laws, Unitization Regulations, and E&P contracts. Regarding the upstream sector rules contained in the Petroleum Law, according to Jean Paul Prates77 (2020), one of Expetro's founding partners, the UK and Norway E&P rights grant models, via licenses, were used as references. Prates also claims that Expetro reviewed the production sharing contracts in Libya and Angola, as well as the Colombian association contract, where Braspetro previously operated. According to Prates, replicating these models would represent Petrobras' intention to take a slow approach to market opening while maintaining its participation. However, because it was necessary to capitalize Petrobras, which was struggling to develop its most recent offshore fields at the time, this company would be unable to accept assignments to carry out the audit of accounts required by the production sharing contract. For Prates, Expetro technicians were aware of the difficulties of these contracts because they had previously had similar experiences with Braspetro in countries that had adopted the production sharing contract. Contracts in Norway and the United Kingdom were easier to execute and more modern. Furthermore, while drafting the regulatory framework, Prates considered the implementation of regulatory agencies, which he believes would be more compatible with concession contracts.

Petroleum Law


Following the approval of Constitutional Amendment No. 9 of 1995, which ended Petrobras' monopoly, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME75) began to coordinate discussions on the regulatory framework for the petroleum industry. Petrobras and external consulting companies were invited by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso to participate in the discussion. Among these consulting firms, Expetro's performance stands out. This consultancy firm was comprised of retired Petrobras technicians with extensive international experience, having worked at Braspetro76 (Petrobras' international subsidiary) and in all aspects of the industry chain. Some bills related to petroleum national policy were pending in Congress, and the MME hired Expetro to compile them and propose a government-specific bill.  There are no precise records of the impact that the cited foreign regulations had on specific topics. As a result, a more accurate assessment of the impact of these transnational rules on the drafting of unitization provisions will be impossible. However, it is possible to argue that the simple prediction of compulsory unitization already entails incorporating a regulatory practice used in many producing countries.

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