IBP suggests national content changes

In anticipation of oil concessions in Brazil set for October, national oil industry association IBP suggested a list of regulatory changes for the country’s hydrocarbons industry.

This list concentrates on making changes to national content regulations, which the government has been using to boost employment in high-paying jobs in the oil and gas industry. IBP recommends that the content levels should become integrated into the bidding process, which would give companies more flexibility in how to include national content in their projects.

The association hopes that these changes will spur exploration activity after challenges faced by the industry such as low oil prices, inefficient operations and a government corruption scandal involving state oil company Petrobras. National content rules have often been to blame for high costs and delays to projects.

The IBP proposals come on the heels of Brazil president Dilma Rousseff’s statement on Thursday to maintain both the existing rules and national content in the oil and gas industry.

For more news and features about Brazil, click here.