Petrobras and BG to build 1st floating gas terminal
O Estado de S. Paulo
Yesterday, Petrobras and British Gas (BG) entered into an agreement for the development of the first floating terminal for liquefied natural gas in the world. The project, called Onboard Liquefied Natural Gas (GNLE, in Portuguese), aims at flowing the gas from the pre-salt layer of the basin of Santos. The initial schedule foresees that the terminal shall begin operations in July 2015, with capacity to liquefy 14 million cubic meters of natural gas a day.
The GNLE is viewed by the management of the State Company as the most viable alternative for the transportation of the gas from the pre-salt layer of the basin of Santos, nearly 300 kilometers from the continent. The other option, through pipelines, faces the resistance of the directors of Gas and Energy, Graça Foster, and Exploration and Production, Guilherme Estrella, because of the lesser flexibility and environmental hindrances. The LNG is gas cooled at - 160° C, until it reaches the liquid form, in which it can be stored in tanks and transported over long distances in ships. In the case of pre-salt, the product may be sent to the domestic market, when there is demand, or abroad, when the reservoirs of the hydroelectric power plants are full.
The agreement entered into yesterday with BG foresees the contracting of three consortia so that they outline different floating terminal projects, which will be assessed by the State Company at the end of next year. Although making her preference for the option clear, Graça stresses out that the projects will be compared with two pipeline alternatives - one until Caraguatatuba and another up to Macaé.
For the President of BG Brasil, Nelson Silva, the distance favors Brazil as a priority market, but the main purpose is to ensure the profitability of the project, regardless of the nationality of the consumers. The country currently has two terminals to receive LNG, called regasifiers, in Rio and in Ceará, which have already received loads of the imported fuel. According to Graça, the idea is to have two other terminals by 2015, whose location is still to be defined.