After Petrobras Interrupts LNG Supply, Power Plants in Ceará Run Out of Gas and State May Halt Production Amid Energy Crisis

Petrobras Halts GNL Supply to Ceará, Affecting Local Energy Supply

Amid the energy crisis affecting all of Brazil, an operational rearrangement by Petrobras in recent months surprised Ceará. The state-owned company interrupted the route of a GNL supply ship used by thermoelectric plants, and this decision may directly impact the supply of energy already contracted by local consumers.

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Petrobras Comments on GNL Supply Interruption in Ceará

Without the supply, the thermoelectric plants in the northeast would have reduced energy production capacity since the first half of 2021. Since March, Petrobras redirected a vessel that used Pier 2 at the Port of Pecém as a GNL Regasification Terminal to operate a route to the state of Bahia.

The ship was responsible for supplying the Bahia Regasification Terminal (TRBA) in Salvador. According to Petrobras, the availability of two vessels in the fleet was tied to the leasing process of the terminal in Bahia. However, the company stated that operations at the Pecém terminal in Ceará should be reestablished soon after the conclusion of the process.

In a statement, Petrobras affirmed that, as outlined in the process, the allocation of a new vessel by the leasing company is expected, and the state-owned company could relocate the GNL ship from TRBA back to the Pecém terminal.

Thermoelectric Plants in Ceará Affected Amid Energy Crisis

Despite Petrobras confirming that GNL stocks should be replenished in the state, the interruption amid the energy crisis has not been well received by the energy consultant of the Federation of Industries of the State of Ceará (Fiec) and also president of the State Chamber of Renewable Energies of Ceará, Jurandir Picanço.

Picanço remarked that the situation is absurd, given that the electricity that would be produced by the Central Geradora Termelétrica Fortaleza S.A. had already been contracted by Enel Distribuição Ceará.

Since 2009, Petrobras has been primarily responsible for supplying GNL with this ship, which meets the demand of the state’s thermoelectric plants. In March, when the energy crisis began, Petrobras removed the vessel and has not returned it.

Consumers Are Not Yet Impacted by the Lack of Gas

The expectation is that the interruption will not yet affect consumers’ wallets. Enel Distribuição Ceará stated, in a note, that the energy supply contract with CGTF is being fulfilled, without any additional fees to consumers.

For Picanço, the state company’s decision is controversial, as it is not favorable amid the energy crisis the country is facing. Since the energy produced by the thermoelectric plant has already been contracted by Enel, and due to the quality of the equipment, production is not expected to have significant impacts on the prices of the red flag, established by Aneel due to low reservoir levels.

Picanço claims that nothing will change for consumers, but in the energy crisis, there is significant impact, as the state could be producing this energy from thermoelectric plants. “The system is buying energy from all types of thermoelectric plants, and that’s why we are under red flag.”