States have new offshore limits and royalty division – 07/13/2023 – Panel

A fight of more than 30 years in the STF (Federal Supreme Court) reaches its final chapter in the next few days, when the amount owed to the state of Santa Catarina for oil royalties not received should be disclosed.

Due to a maritime layout made in 1986 by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the STF understood that oil fields were mistakenly outside the waters of Santa Catarina.

The legal dispute began in 1991, when the SC government filed a civil lawsuit originating in the STF. In 2020, the Court agreed with SC and ordered the IBGE to make a new maritime route – the last appeal against such decision was rejected in 2022. This year, last May, the new IBGE route, involving the states of Santa Catarina , Paraná and São Paulo, was ratified by Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, rapporteur of the case.

In the same decision that determined the realization of a new route at sea, the STF also condemned Paraná to reimburse Santa Catarina for royalties received in error.

About 15 days ago, the ANP (National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels) presented tables with the millionaire figures paid from the 1990s until May 2023 for the states of Paraná and São Paulo. Now, the PGE (State Attorney General’s Office) of SC informed the Panel that it is analyzing the numbers in the tables, to suggest the final value of the compensation.

The PGE of Paraná, on the other hand, told the Panel that it is monitoring the process, but that, until now, “there has been no definition of the amount and how the payment will be made”. Santa Catarina maintains that the maritime projection meant that Paraná received royalties from oil exploration in the Tubarão, Estrela do Mar, Coral, Caravela and Caravela do Sul fields.

The São Paulo PGE stated to the Panel that the new maritime limits established by the STF do not cover any of the fields currently belonging to São Paulo. In the new configuration, São Paulo not only maintains its fields, but will also have exclusivity over the Tubarão field, which currently belongs to Paraná.

In addition, according to PGE, SP also assumes, in a shared manner with SC, the Estrela do Mar field, which is currently also with Paraná.

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