In Addition to High Ethanol and Gasoline Prices, Distributors Confirm 39% Increase in Petrobras’ CNG, Which Will Further Impact Brazilian Consumers Starting Saturday (05/01)

With Ethanol and Gasoline Prices Soaring, Refueling with CNG Remains Advantageous Even with 39% Increase from Petrobras, Says Copergás

It was confirmed yesterday (04/28) by Abegás that Petrobras will adjust the selling prices of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for distributors by 39%, starting next Saturday, May 1st. Even with the adjustment, refueling with Natural Gas will continue to be advantageous, says Copergás. Currently, CNG is the main option for drivers who travel many kilometers a day and want to avoid the rising prices of gasoline and ethanol.

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Unlike the prices of gasoline, diesel, and LPG (used in gas cylinders and kitchens), vehicle gas is adjusted quarterly. The increase in Reais per cubic meter will take effect on May 1st and the price will be maintained until the end of July.

According to the Brazilian oil company, the fuel considered cleaner and found accumulated in porous rocks underground is also linked to the price of oil. “For the months of May, June, and July, the reference is the prices from January, February, and March. During this period, oil prices rose by 38%, following the trend of rising global commodities. Additionally, domestic commodity prices have increased due to the depreciation of the Real,” the company stated in a note.

Another factor that contributed to the 39% increase was the variation of the IGP-M, used for the annual adjustment of the CNG transport contract, which occurs every May. The accumulated figure this year was 31% for this index, which is also known to impact rental prices.

In the statement regarding the increase, Petrobras further justified that natural gas had an accumulated reduction of 35% in Reais last year.

Increase in Ethanol, Gasoline, and Now CNG Prices Will Further Impact App Drivers and Taxi Drivers

CNG has become popular in Brazil among app drivers and taxi drivers. This is because it offers better efficiency and is cheaper than ethanol and gasoline. According to distributor BR, the savings average 60%.

A popular car that drives 100 km a day gets 8 km per liter of ethanol, 10 km per liter of gasoline, and 12 km per cubic meter of CNG. However, the costs of installing the cylinders in the trunks are high, ranging from R$ 3,000 to R$ 6,000, in addition to the disadvantage of taking up space in the trunk.

The option for this fuel gained traction at the beginning of this year with the skyrocketing prices of gasoline and ethanol, which have accumulated increases of 40.76% and 25%, respectively. While the price per cubic meter of CNG is R$ 2.984, gasoline costs R$ 5.328 per liter and ethanol R$ 3.818, based on prices for São Paulo measured by ANP (National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels).

Raízen of the Shell Group Plans to Build Three Ethanol Plants Using Bagasse and Sugarcane Straw

Raízen, the global giant producer of ethanol, in partnership with Shell, intends to build three more cellulosic ethanol plants — or second-generation plants. The good news was announced by businessman Rubens Ometto of Cosan last Monday (03/15).

The technology for producing cellulosic ethanol arose from a partnership between Shell and the Canadian company Logen, which specializes in biotechnology. In the last harvest (2019/20), the Piracicaba plant produced 226 liters of ethanol per ton of dry biomass.