Brazil 's government is in disagreement with state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR) over the volume of oil held in offshore areas that will be granted to the company, the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reported Wednesday.

Independent audits of the area by Petrobras and Brazil 's National Petroleum Agency show different reserve estimates for the Franco prospect. A reserve estimate will be used in the government's complicated capitalization plan for Petrobras. The audits are part of the process to establish a value for oil rights the government will transfer to Petrobras under the capitalization plan. Petrobras will issue new shares to pay for the oil rights, with the size of the offer based on the value of the oil rights.

The ANP audit estimates Franco holds 4.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, while the Petrobras audit estimated recoverable reserves of less than 4 billion barrels, Folha reported.

The latest difficulties in negotiating the oil-for-shares swap followed last week's discussion of the price estimates made by the two audits. The problems underscore the uncertainties surrounding the capitalization plan, which has caused a steep slide in Petrobras shares in recent months.

Petrobras' locally traded preferred shares were down 0.2% at 26.09 Brazilian reals ($14.72). The stock has fallen nearly 30% so far in 2010, slashing about $56 billion in Petrobras' market value.
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