BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank, has approved the creation of the Support Program for the Development of the Supply Chain for Oil & Gas sector-related Goods and Services (BNDES P&G). The program offers the BNDES new ways to support the supply chain of oil & gas goods and services, narrowing the relationship existing between the Bank and the sector.

The high volume of investments expected for the coming years shows a favorable panorama to consolidate the oil & gas sector supply chain, with heightened competitiveness of Brazilian companies in the domestic and international markets.

With a budget of R$ 4 billion and effective until December 31, 2015, the BNDES P&G aims to remove some of the obstacles to the sector’s competitiveness and development, such as difficult access to credit, high capital cost and access to state-of-the-art technology.

The program focuses on projects undergoing implementation, expansion and modernization of production capacity; supply chain consolidation, merger and acquisition, and internationalization; financing of working capital required to produce equipments and render services; and support for research, development and innovation activities.

Besides offering different financial conditions, with interest rates ranging from 4.5% per annum, for innovation, to 11.04%, for financing working capital, in direct operations, the program eases access to credit for micro, small and medium-sized companies (MPMEs). Smaller companies represent approximately 85% of O&G supply chain companies in the country.

The program also outlines higher levels for the BNDES’ participation in financing projects and enables support for the acquisition of technology, manpower qualification and capacity-building and services rendering, especially sector-related engineering and certification services.

The BNDES P&G may also support the supply chain by means of operations with the so-called “anchor companies”. In this case, the idea is to ease access to credit for smaller companies (MPMEs).

The anchor company is a larger-sized company (with annual gross operating income over R$ 90 million) that, based on a Suppliers Development Plan, forwards at least 30% of financing resources to its suppliers and sub-suppliers, boosting production activities in which it is direct or indirectly involved. These operations are expected to foster an even closer relationship among the sector’s companies, in addition to enabling access to credit throughout the entire O&G supply chain.

BNDES P&G’s clients are all companies with head offices and management in Brazil, which integrate, or will in the future, the supply chain of oil & gas sector-related goods and services.

The BNDES P&G may operate with financing, in direct, indirect (by means of accredited financial institutions) or mixed modalities, and with variable income instruments, involving corporate stakes (shares).

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