Bloomberg — Brazilian oil giant Petrobras should increase its efforts to boost natural gas supplies and reduce prices to help revitalize the domestic industry, according to Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira.
Minister of Mines and Energy of Brazil, Alexandre Silveira.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), as the state-owned company is formally known, must accelerate studies that will help it control the amount of gas injected back into oil fields to increase crude production, Silveira said in an interview. . This will free up more gas for sale. In addition to Petrobras – and other major oil companies – investment should also be made in new gas pipelines to increase domestic gas supply, he added.
After weeks of public clashes with Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates, Silveira acknowledged “some progress” by the company’s management. As an example, he mentioned Rota 3, a long-delayed offshore gas pipeline that is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of this year.
Brazil is increasingly exposed to supply risks as gas production in Bolivia declines. However, the government estimates that Brazil will be able to increase the supply of natural gas by up to 150 million cubic meters per day through projects including Equinor’s Raia and Petrobras’ Sergipe Aguas Profundas, as well as imports from the Vaca Muerta region in Argentina.
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Silveira said talks are underway with Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay to explore various import routes for Vaca Muerta gas. The fuel could be transported through the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline (Gasbol), or it could pass through the Chaco region of Paraguay.
“If it is economically viable, in the future Petrobras could partner with infrastructure companies to bring this gas,” Silveira said.
–With the collaboration of Alessandra Migliaccio.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
