Pipeline work that would make the country self-sufficient in gas is paralyzed, says Petrobras

In a statement to the market on Tuesday morning (12), Petrobras informed that the Rota 3 gas pipeline, responsible for helping to make Brazil self-sufficient in natural gas by 2027, will no longer be opened in the second half of the year, as planned.

Petrobras announced that the works on the Natural Gas Processing Unit of the Polo Gás Lub (UPGN), in Itaboraí, in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, are paralyzed because the company responsible for the construction unilaterally interrupted the contract.

With the Petrobras report, the market is now working with the forecast that the UPGN will be inaugurated in March 2023, which has not yet been confirmed by the company.

Also according to the state-owned company, the company responsible for the UPGN work has demobilized its staff, estimated at around 1,500 workers.

“For this reason, the work is at a standstill, and only activities to preserve equipment and facilities are being carried out. Additionally, Petrobras reinforces that it is up to date with all its commitments with the aforementioned company”, says an excerpt from the statement released by the state company.

The works are carried out by the consortium formed between the Chinese oil company Kerui and the Brazilian contractor Method Potential, which resulted in the Specific Purpose Society (SPE) Keruí-Método. Sought, the partnership has not yet manifested.

When ready, the UPGN is expected to receive and process, according to Petrobras, the equivalent of 21 million cubic meters of gas per day, putting Brazil on a level of independence because the country will have its demand for natural gas supplied internally.

The forecast is that this autonomy will be guaranteed until 2027.

The product comes from the offshore fields of the Santos Basin, through a 355-kilometer long gas pipeline.

In January, President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the then Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, were present at the unit for the pre-departure ceremony. for the presidency of Petrobras this year, understands that the delay is harmful to the country’s domestic demand and will generate extra costs, due to the high price of the commodity in the international market.

The phenomenon is due to the War in Ukraine.

“This is very bad news, because this gas would supply a drop in production that happens in the post-salt fields. The gas, which used to cost five dollars per million BTUS, now varies between US$ 25 and US$ 30. So Petrobras will have to arrange this gas, which will probably be imported”, says Pires.

According to data from the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), Rio de Janeiro holds about 60% of Brazil’s proven reserves of natural gas.

In May, the Bolivian state-owned Yacimentos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) reduced the supply of natural gas to Brazil by 30%, through the Brazil-Bolivia gas pipeline, which resulted in a reduction in supply of six million cubic meters per day and caused that the country needed to import more liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Through a note, the Ministry of Mines and Energy said that the supply of natural gas in Brazil, in the second half of 2022, does not necessarily depend on the entry into operation of the Rota 3 gas pipeline, considering that other sources of gas are available. natural gas produced in the national territory and supplementation, through the importation, of natural gas from Bolivia and LNG.

“The Sectorial Committee for Monitoring the National Supply of Fuels and Biofuels (CMSNC), created through Ordinance No. 623/GM/MME, of March 10, 2022, will continue to monitor the supply of natural gas to the national market”.