The Board of Directors of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels ("ANP") approved, on March 07, 2015, the draft of a new Resolution providing the possibility for the Agency to set deadlines for regulated companies who fail to comply with any applicable operational safety and environmental requirements and/or any of the “Best Practices of the Oil Industry”, before the imposition of any sanction.
The main provisions of the draft of the new Resolution (available on ANP's official website) are: (i) the granting of periods for companies to remedy unconformities before the issuance of a notice of infraction and the application of penalties by the Superintendence of Operational Safety and the Environment (SSM/ANP); (ii) the categorization of the infractions in accordance with their level of severity (minor, moderate, severe and critical); and (iii) the creation and regulation of the Recommendation of Disclosure and the Notice of Disclosure, instruments that will make ANP’s understandings public.
The abovementioned proposals will be discussed during the Public Consultation that precedes Public Hearing, whose date is yet to be scheduled. The Consultation will last until April 20, 2015. Those who are interested in sending comments on the draft of the new resolution and suggestions should follow the procedure available on ANP’s official website.
