Oil exploration in the Brazilian pre-salt layer -Proposed improvements to the Social Fund

• Grant number: 11/09846-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2011
• End date: October 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: André Felipe Simões
• Grantee: Débora Tau Zymberg Tomaszewski
• Host Institution: Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The oi industryhas its history characterized by innovations going by the commercial discovery for Colonel Edwin Drake in 1859, for the era of the Seven Sisters, world wars and, more recently, by the nationalization of the oil reserves beds in many countries. Fact is that the oil became the main energy and industrial raw material of the world, of which depends the current society. The industry of petroleum belonged always one to the pioneers to use the science as growth instrument, not being different in the national case. Being considered the fact of having most of their oil reservations located in the sea, and not in land (as in most of the other countries), Brazil had to produce innovations locally. Petrobras broke successive records of limits of exploration depth, until reaching, recently, the layer of the Pré-salt, about 7.000 meters below the surface of the Atlantic South. The reserves of the Pré-salt can bring important benefits to the country, once would provide a great source of resources. So, the Brazilian legal mark was already modified, through the Law n. 12.304/10, wich creates a new national company, the Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA); and the Law n. 12.351/10, wich changes the exploration regime and creates the Social Fund (FS, abreviation of the initial words in portuguese), in which part of the profits of the exploration will be allocated. In spite of the legislation already to have defined, the basic parameters of the operation of FS, the division and application of the resources stil are in discussion. The discovery of the Pré-salt is an opportunity differentiated to face the social and economical problems of the present time, and Brazil can take advantage of international examples and experiences for such. In that context, emerges the opportunity and the justification for accomplishment of the present Research Project. In that sense, the Project in proposition has as objective to propose possible improvements for the current model of the Brazilian FS. The basic procedures used for data collection will be bibliographical revision, for intensive direct observation, and accomplishment of no structured interviews. It fits to mention, in that sense, that through descriptive and exploratory research, it will be used the historical-comparative method and the phenomenological analysis.