Govt. may slow pace of hydrocarbon licensing

Brazil may slow down the rhythm of exploration license tenders as it approaches oil self-sufficiency, local press quoted the mines and energy ministry's oil and gas secretary Maria das Graças Foster as saying. "Up to now the [hydrocarbons regulator] ANP has been concerned with exploration - that is, it had to hold one tender every year," she was quoted as saying at the opening of the Round 6 licensing Tuesday. "Now, as we get close to self-sufficiency, we need to better plan the development of our reserves." The government's decision on when to hold the seventh licensing round will be based upon oil derivatives consumption and production trends. Foster also said that while foreign and private companies can explore and produce oil and gas, the decision on whether they can export their production will also hinge on the government's strategy and national consumption trends. Brazil consumes about 1.87 million barrels a day (mb/d) of oil derivatives, while domestic production - most of which comes from federal energy company Petrobras - is some 1.6mb/d. Petrobras has announced plans to reach self-sufficiency in 2005. Brazil has been tendering hydrocarbon exploration licenses since it opened up its oil industry to private companies in the late 1990s.