There are many reasons that lead natural gas to other paths, but the data only demonstrates how difficult the government's task of making fuel cheaper will be.
According to data from the ANP and the MME, only 50% of the natural gas produced in the country reaches the market, while 36% is returned to the well, in the form of reinjection, 11% is consumed on board platforms for power generation and 3% is burned in the flare.
If we were to compare the volume of natural gas returned to the wells with that purchased from Bolivia, we would be even more surprised, the volume of reinjected gas is almost double, in the period from 2018 to July of this year. The scenario matches the government's thinking that is to make the price of fuel fall by half to enable the growth of companies.
The practice of reinjecting natural gas into wells is recurrent in the Brazilian market, without a limitation by the ANP for the activity, there are two reasons why operators use it to increase oil production.
One reason is to increase well pressure and facilitate oil output, and the other is due to the lack of infrastructure to transport production to the coast.
The ANP is studying whether to limit the return of fuel to the wells, but it is not a very easy task, as several factors influence the establishment of volumes, such as the technical and economic aspects of each field.
“I doubt that the ANP will limit the amount. It will evaluate the technical solution proposed by the operator, if it considers it adequate. The operators have data to justify the volumes and technically discuss them”, declared the Executive Secretary of Natural Gas at the IBP, Luiz Costamilan.
According to the secretary, reinjection is the first option for oil companies in the current scenario, as it prevents a drop in pressure in the reservoir, "The main objective is to maximize oil recovery from the reservoir, which reflects on the financial result."
Thus, even with the ANP announcing that the production of natural gas in Brazil has doubled, the volume that reaches the market does not follow this growth.
According to data from Abegás (Brazilian Association of Piped Gas Distribution Companies), around R$ 48,7 million are reinjected into wells daily. If this volume reached the market, there would be a 64% increase in the supply of national gas.
However, we need to take into account that as the gas injection improves the production of the wells, the yield without the activity would also be lower.
Infrastructure
In order for natural gas to reach the coast, we would need to have a much wider network of gas pipelines. Brazil currently has 9.400 km. of gas pipelines, while Argentina has 16.000 km, Europe 200.000 km and the USA 497.000 km.
The Brazilian numbers are very modest and are the main challenge of the “Novo Mercado de Gás” program that is being implemented by the current federal government.
According to Abegás, investments in the order of US$ 19,5 billion would be needed in flow routes, processing units for this gas to reach the consumer.
There is a proposal stalled in congress for the creation of a fund to finance the construction of pipelines, Brasduto, but if it becomes law, it should not have government sanction, as paulo Guedes is in favor of investments to open up the sector coming from private initiative.
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