Major Oil And Gas Companies Will Participate In The A-6 Energy Auction

The Goal of Oil Companies Is to Find a Market for Their Growing Gas Production and Power Plant Projects Come into Focus

The A-6 energy auction taking place this Friday (10/18), which has been eagerly awaited by energy companies, now also attracts the attention of major oil companies. Petrobras and Equinor Have Formalized an Agreement for Gas Power Plants!
The reason for such interest is the oil companies’ search for a consumer market for their natural gas production, expected from the new blocks sold in ANP auctions or by the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The Interested Parties

The interest is not only from Petrobras; other major oil companies such as Equinor, Shell, and BP are looking for opportunities in the energy sector.
Although these large companies are focusing on power plants, only two of the twenty-six qualified projects are expected to be contracted in the A-6 auction.

Much due to having only two energy specialists competing in this round, Engie and Eneva have already confirmed their participation to compete with the oil companies.
It is also worth noting the presence of Shell, GNA (BP/Siemens/Prumo Logística), and Golar, owners of the three largest private power generation projects under construction in the country that want to expand their thermal power complexes.

The oil giant Shell is already investing in power plants and will participate in the A-6 auction with its Marlim Azul power plant expansion project (565 megawatts) in Macaé (RJ), where the multinational, with a 29.9% stake, is a partner of Pátria Investimentos (50.1%) and Mitsubishi (20%).
The company is currently the second-largest producer of natural gas in Brazil, with volumes of 15 million cubic meters daily (m³/day), or 11% of the total volume produced in the country.

Petrobras and Equinor, which signed an agreement last week for the development of gas projects, are expected to use production from the Açúcar field in the Campos Basin to supply third-party plants.
BP is seeking a market for its imported LNG. The British oil company is already supplying three plants under construction by GNA at Porto do Açu, in São João da Barra (RJ), totaling 3,000 MW.

Eneva, which ranks just behind Petrobras and Shell in natural gas production, is currently the largest energy generator through thermal power plants in the country, with 1,400 MW of installed capacity from natural gas plants in the Parnaíba Complex in Maranhão and another 500 MW under construction.
Eneva, with a 270 MW project in Parnaíba, appears as one of the favorites in the A-6 auction due to the low production cost of its natural gas compared to pre-salt and LNG.

Between 500 and 600 megawatts (MW) of average capacity are expected to be contracted in the A-6 auction, and although this is considered a modest volume, it is hoped that it will be a start, fueled by the federal government’s “New Gas Market.”

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