Oil Rights Offshore Petrobras Could Cost 50 % More

Brazil's Petrobras may have to pay up to 22,000 million reais ($ 10,000 million) by 2018, or 50 percent more than originally announced, for new offshore oil rights the government decided Tuesday to sell the state oil company.

The analysis conducted by Reuters transaction is based on the upper range of projections of oil prices by the Energy Information Agency (EIA, for its acronym in English) in the U.S. and exchange rate estimates compiled by the Central Bank of Brazil.

On Tuesday, the government said that Petrobras will pay 15.000 billion reais by 2018, with 2,000 million reais to enter into state coffers this year for the rights from 9,800 million to 15,200 million barrels of oil and natural gas equivalent in four offshore wells.

The upper level is equivalent to the total proven oil reserves of Brazil.

That oil is in addition to the rights of 5,000 million barrels of oil that Petrobras bought the Government in exchange for equity oil in 2010, but estimates of the amount of oil in these areas have increased since then.

The government estimate is based on an average exchange rate of 2.20 reais per dollar and Brent crude price of $ 105 per barrel.

Although Petrobras receive new rights for much less than what you paid in 2010, investors have reacted negatively. From Tuesday, Petrobras shares have fallen 5.4 percent.

The company, the oil giant more debt and less profitable in the world, has seen a decline in production although it has invested more than any other company in expansion projects in recent years.

Amounts you receive the State after the initial payment of 2,000 million reais, would be considered prepayment of the portion corresponding to the treasury of all oil produced and would be equivalent to 61 million barrels of oil, the government said.

All such payments will be made years before they produce something new oil.

The value of that oil would be based on the price of Brent crude oil in the pre-payment and made the exchange rate month.

If the price of oil rises to $ 148 per barrel in 2018, as indicated by the higher estimate of the EIA, and the exchange rate weakens to 2.60 per dollar in 2018, as indicated by the central bank's projection Brazil, Petrobras would pay about 22,000 million.

In the lower range of the EIA estimates of $ 69 per barrel in 2019, Petrobras would drop their payments to the Government to 12.100 million.

(Additional reporting by Marta Nogueira; Written by Jeb Blount; Spanish Editing by Peter Cooney)

($ 1 = 2.20 Brazilian reais)