Russians negotiate with Brazil to invest in pre-salt
O Estado de S. Paulo 09/23/10
The Russians will land in Brazil. Companies of the sector of natural gas and extraction technology will open offices in Rio de Janeiro and they propose investments in pre-salt to allow not only the exploration of oil, but also to capture and sell the gas retrieved from the reserves. A week ago, the National Oil Agency (ANP) and Petrobrás held preliminary talks in Moscow with some of the giants of the sector, including Gazprom - the largest natural gas company in the world. It was taken decision to start negotiation rounds later this year, in Brazil, to try to identify how the Russian investment might be integrated to the pre-salt projects. "They (Russians) were very interested in making the process walk fast", said Carlos Paranhos, Brazilian Ambassador in Russia.In the second quarter of the year, the State-owned company Gazprom had profits three times greater than those obtained in early 2009, with a net total of US$ 10.6 billion. After being affected by the crisis in 2008 and by the fall in the consumption of gas in Europe with the recession, the company now resumes profiting and thinks of new investments. In the process, Brazil appears as one of the priorities, besides the Asian market, which continues in full expansion. According to Paranhos, Gazprom will be the first company to have an office in the country, with a view to a permanent presence in the pre-salt starting this year. Companies like Zarubezhneft and Power Machines are also among those taking part in the negotiations. The very Kremlin considers the approach part of a political strategy in South America. "The Russian Government is ready to provide a wide range of services in the energy sector to ensure the increase of the cooperation between Brazil and Russia", said Stanislav Dorzhunkevich, one of the main representatives of the Ministry of Energy of Russia.
This is not the first time the Russians rehearse landing in Brazil to invest in the energy sector. Five years ago, Gazprom made it clear it would like to take part in pipeline works between Venezuela and Brazil. Another priority for Russia is to direct more of its gas supply to China, thus reducing the flow to the stagnant Europe. Yesterday, Beijing and Moscow closed an agreement to ensure the supply of energy by Gazprom in the Chinese market. The first delivery will take place in 2015, but its price has not been established yet. It is estimated that 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Gazprom be sent to China by year.