Water Crisis in Brazil Causes Petrobras to Triple Liquefied Natural Gas Ships, Says State-Owned Company’s President

The President of Petrobras Joaquim Silva e Luna participated this Thursday in an online event of Credit Suisse bank and on this occasion stated that the state-owned company increased imports, going from almost 40 vessels to about 130 LNG vessels.

This increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Petrobras occurred so that Brazil could continue generating electricity. Specifically, through thermal power plants.

See Also

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Due to the water crisis that Brazil experienced in 2021, considered the worst in the last nine decades, thermal power plants had to be triggered to compensate for the decline in generation from hydropower plants and avert the risk of blackout.

The hydropower plants are the main sources of energy in Brazil. But due to the drought, many of them fell below the average volume, which indirectly resulted in this increase in LNG vessels from Petrobras.

According to the president of Petrobras, Joaquim Silva e Luna, the increase in liquefied gas/LNG imports was almost mandatory, given the circumstances.

“Petrobras found itself in a position to significantly increase its imports. We went from almost 40 vessels to almost 120, 130 gas vessels. We greatly increased imports to meet this demand from thermal power plants,” said Silva e Luna during the online event of Credit Suisse bank.

Petrobras Imported an Average of 23 Million Cubic Meters of LNG Per Day in 2021

The increase in imports of liquefied natural gas by Petrobras was around 200%, compared to 2020, according to data from the state-owned company itself.

In 2021, Petrobras imported an average of 23 million cubic meters (m³) of LNG per day on its vessels. In 2020, the daily volume averaged 7.5 million cubic meters.

The main import destinations for Petrobras’s LNG are the United States, Trinidad & Tobago, and Qatar. According to data from the National Electric System Operator (ONS), thermal generation from natural gas increased by 62.5% in 2021 compared to 2020 and 47.2% compared to 2019.

• 2021 – 7.8 GW average
• 2020 – 4.8 GW average
• 2019 – 5.3 GW average

Why Does Brazil Import LNG?

Part of the natural gas produced in Brazil is not utilized due to a lack of pipelines for flow. The pipeline network in the country is 9,400 kilometers long. Very small, according to experts.

In 2020, to give an idea, the LNG supply increased by 211%. Production rose from 8.4 to 26.1 million cubic meters per day, according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). As a result, 45% of the gas produced was reinjected.