RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 2 - The pace of bidding rounds in Brazil's offshore subsalt fields will depend heavily on local industry's capacity to provide goods and services required by local content rules, state-run Petrobras said on Wednesday.
Brazil has instated heavy local content rules for production of equipment such as oil platforms to ensure the development of the deep-sea reserves provides jobs and economic growth while fortifying domestic industry.
"The rhythm (of bidding) for those new areas will be heavily determined by the capacity of domestic industry to provide goods and services for the gigantic investment program," Petrobras Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli said in a conference call. "That is for me the driving force for the rhythm of bids in those areas."
The South American nation has promised to create hundreds of thousands of jobs by using Brazilian companies and workers to build key equipment such as floating storage, production and offloading (FPSO) terminals.
Critics say the effort could slow subsalt development if equipment cannot be provided on time, or could vastly boost the costs of production if the government pressures Petrobras to prioritize employment creation over efficient procurement.
Brazil halted new exploration in the promising deep-sea acreage after the 2007 discovery of the massive Tupi field as the government prepared a proposal -- delivered to Congress this week -- changing the rules for tapping those reserves.
Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N) under the new rules would be the sole operator of the new projects in the subsalt region with a minimum stake of 30 percent, while the current concession system would be replaced with production-sharing agreements.
Brazil has instated heavy local content rules for production of equipment such as oil platforms to ensure the development of the deep-sea reserves provides jobs and economic growth while fortifying domestic industry.
"The rhythm (of bidding) for those new areas will be heavily determined by the capacity of domestic industry to provide goods and services for the gigantic investment program," Petrobras Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli said in a conference call. "That is for me the driving force for the rhythm of bids in those areas."
The South American nation has promised to create hundreds of thousands of jobs by using Brazilian companies and workers to build key equipment such as floating storage, production and offloading (FPSO) terminals.
Critics say the effort could slow subsalt development if equipment cannot be provided on time, or could vastly boost the costs of production if the government pressures Petrobras to prioritize employment creation over efficient procurement.
Brazil halted new exploration in the promising deep-sea acreage after the 2007 discovery of the massive Tupi field as the government prepared a proposal -- delivered to Congress this week -- changing the rules for tapping those reserves.
Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N) under the new rules would be the sole operator of the new projects in the subsalt region with a minimum stake of 30 percent, while the current concession system would be replaced with production-sharing agreements.
