Gov't cuts fiscal plans for oil companies to save $2B per year

Planning Ministry reported it has decided to suspend the application of the fiscal incentive programmes denominated Petróleo Plus and Refino Plus for the large companies of the sector. It also announced that this will allow savings of 2 billion pesos per year.

“This decision is based in the modifications of the market’s conditions in which these programmes were established in 2008,” the Ministry stated.

Besides, it added that “in this period the project has reached an important advance, so the initial aims have been accomplished.”

The companies that will no longer receive the fiscal benefits are Panamerican Energy (PAE), YPF, Occidental-Sinopec, Pluspetrol, Total Austral, Enap Sipetrol and Pretrogras. Regarding the Refino Plus, the companies who will lose the benefits are Esso, Petrobras and YPF.

The programmes Petróleo Plus and Refino Plus were created in 2008, destined to encourage the oil exploration and exploitation, to incorporate reserve and increase the oil productions, the ministry detailed.

The measure is being applied in the midst of the subsidies cuts the government has been applying in the last months in several sectors of the economy.