Tratamento Contábil do Custo de Abandono: Uma Aplicação em Empresas Petrolíferas

Abstract

   Accordingly to the industry they belong, some companies are compelled to dismantle, remove, demobilize and revert their assets when a project, or activity, meets an end. Furthermore, they have to recover the site they once stood, so that it keeps the same environmental conditions as before. Along these companies, came oil companies. Up until recently, there weren't standards regarding accounting procedures of these obligations. In 2001, FASB issued SFAS 143, aiming to unify the accounting practices related to acknowledging liabilities that arisen from the reversion of assets, as well as to allow comparability between financial statements. Therefore, the main goal of this study consists of presenting and analyzing the determinations comprised in the North-American principle known as SFAS 143, in order to gauge the impacts on the financial statements of oil companies due to a provision for reverting assets (provision for abandonment). This is a descriptive study, carried out through: (a) bibliographical research, (b) documental research and (c) case study. A variety of practices engaged by the company has been verified before SFAS 143 was in force. Initial effects of the adoption of SFAS 143 were relevant at Petrobras, who made possible a reversion of 90.1% (which corresponds to US$1,166 million) of the provision for abandonment before the principle was in vigor. Petrobras complied with all the requirements of SFAS 143.