From the Newsroom*
São Paulo – Yesterday (19), Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told the political council, a group comprised of pro-government parties, that he is negotiating the importing of natural gas from other producing markets, given the possibility of interruption in the purchase of gas from Bolivia. According to an article published in newspaper O Globo, Petrobras should send representatives to gas exporting countries such as Algeria and Libya, as well as Trinidad and Tobago, to discuss the supplying of gas.
ANBA published, approximately two years ago, articles on the possibility of Brazil importing gas from Algeria. The subject was discussed during a mission of the Brazilian government to the Arab country in November 2005. In May last year, the president of Petrobras, José Sérgio Gabrielli, told ANBA that the government was planning to build regasification plants, which would allow for the country to import gas from "anywhere in the world."
Regasification plants convert liquefied gas back into its gaseous state. If the product comes from distant locations, as is the case with the Arab countries, then the gas must be transported in the liquefied form, due to the impossibility of using gas pipes. Upon arrival, the gas must be converted back into its gaseous form when it arrives in Brazil.
The government is already building two regasification plants, and will accelerate construction work to enable gas imports, according to the article in O Globo. The two plants combined will have capacity for converting approximately 20 million cubic metres of gas per day. The government is contemplating other alternatives while the plants are not completed, such as buying or leasing a regasification ship.
Brazil imports half the natural gas it consumes from Bolivia. The two countries are facing problems reaching a consensus in the debate for supplying gas. Bolivia intends to turn gas production in the country into a state-owned enterprise – the sector is currently explored by Brazilian company Petrobras -, and is threatening to repossess the refineries without paying the due reimbursement to the company. Should this really happen, the Brazilian government will stop buying gas from Bolivia.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
