A billionaire contract is closed between Espírito Santo gas and a Portuguese company. This is the first time that another company, other than Petrobras, has entered the radar to meet the demand for fuel

The contract signed between Espírito Santo Gas and Galp Energia, a Portuguese oil company, aims to generate natural gas for Espírito Santo

Companhia de Gás do Espírito Santo (ES Gás) entered into a supply contract with Galp Energia, a Portuguese company operating in the oil and natural gas products market. It is the first time that the state of Espírito Santo will have a natural gas supplier other than Petrobras. The term of the contract is for ten years, totaling a volume of 912 million m³ of natural gas. The total value of the contract is close to R$ 2 billion.

According to the terms of the contract, there will be 100.000 m³ of natural gas per day in the years 2023 and 2024, 200.000 m³ of natural gas per day in 2025 and 300.000 m³ of natural gas per day between the years 2026 and 2032. agreement signed with Galp has already been approved by the Espírito Santo Public Services Regulation Agency (Arsp).

According to the Director of Operations at ES Gás, Antonio Fernando César Filho, the agreement with Galp for the supply of natural gas embodies efforts to diversify supply sources. “It is an important action for companies that supply natural gas in a market in transition, as dependence on the main supplier decreases”.

The Company's president, Heber Resende, also comments on the issue of competition. “When we realized that the market was about to open possibilities for other suppliers to offer natural gas to Espírito Santo, we decided to keep our public call permanently open, in order to identify and take advantage of new supply opportunities. The contract with Galp demonstrates that this decision was the right one, since the contracted values ​​are very competitive, which is great news for Espírito Santo”.

At risk of exploding, oil platform is banned in Espírito Santo

After an inspection of an oil platform in Espírito Santo, the ANP (National Petroleum Agency) prohibited operations on the FPSO Cidade de Vitória platform vessel. The unit has several problems, among them the risk of leaking dangerous gases at rates five times higher than expected in the project and failures in the communication systems with the onboard population.

According to the ANP inspection and interdiction bulletin, “several situations of imminent serious risk were identified”. In a note, the agency also stated that the oil platform, if it is in operation, could pose risks to the city of Vitória of “occurrence of containment losses, fires and serious accidents”

Interdicted oil platform in Espírito Santo and does not have a date to return to operations

The inspection of the platform in the city of Vitória was carried out from May 30 to June 3 of this year, with an interdiction order and notification in the document stating that the operation could only be resumed after all the requirements established by the ANP were met.

“The operator (of the platform) will only be able to resume production after proving compliance with the following notifications that were established and authorized by the ANP”, says the text of the inspection bulletin.

According to information on the Petrobras website, the city of Vitória, in Espírito Santo, is located in the Golfinho field, about 50 kilometers from the coast of Espírito Santo, on the coast between Greater Vitória and Aracruz.

Risks identified on the oil platform in Espírito Santo

Non-detection of hazardous gases: According to the ANP interdiction document, around 90% of clouds of hazardous gases are not detected by the system installed on the FPSO Cidade de Vitória, Espírito Santo. It is shown that the Espírito Santo platform uses criteria for detecting gas clouds that are different from most oil platforms in the country and that, although it is not against the norms, they result in less safe projects, which demands greater efficiency of primary containment, through the guarantee of integrity, which does not happen.

Gas leak: In 2020, it was identified on the Espírito Santo platform that “the real leak rate is five times higher than expected in the project”. This fact was evidenced in the inspection, where it presented a low integrity and severe corrosion in several pipes. According to the official estimate, the frequency of leaks should be one event every 1,2 years, but in the first six months of 2019 there were 3 leaks, which resulted in explosions and a jet of fire, caused, according to the document, by lack of maintenance and lack of competence.

Communication system: The inspection on the oil platform also pointed out that it was identified that the system of the Espírito Santo unit is degraded, and it is not possible to understand the messages sent, after carrying out several tests. Some flaws in the amplifiers and in the control room were also identified.

“Several tests were carried out and some representatives of the Contract Operator, the Facility and the ANP, despite being attentive, were unable to understand the messages transmitted by the PA system”

The purpose of the alarm and warning on the platform ship, according to the inspection, is to reduce the risks of people on board becoming confused during an incident and taking actions that could endanger themselves and others.

The solution to this problem on the Espírito Santo oil platform, according to the document, is one of the conditions for the return to production of the FPSO Cidade de Vitória.