RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazil’s presalt fields have the potential to make the country self-sufficient in gas production; however, energy policy changes are needed to reach the goal, according to a study released by the Federal University in Rio de Janeiro.
The country remains dependent on Bolivia to supply most of its gas, despite Brazil’s output reaching more than 1 MMbbl/d of oil a decade after presalt resources were discovered.
Brazil’s domestic demand for natural gas is about 80 MMcm/d (2.8 Bcf/d), while the country produces about 111.7 MMcm/d (3.9 Bcf/d), according to ANP, Brazil’s oil and gas regulator. However, most of the gas produced has been used for reinjection to increase oil output. Brazil imports 30% of its total demand from Bolivia.
“For decades, Brazil has been suffering from the lack of strategy for boosting gas output in order to meet the domestic demand,” said Edimar Almeida, the professor who coordinated the study. “It is essential to design an energy plan and regulatory changes to promote the best use of the gas potential of the presalt.”
According to the study, a new view on Brazil’s oil and gas regulatory framework, establishing measures to attract new players in the gas sector, for example, can help to change the situation.
Although a smaller presence by Petrobras in the gas sector is seen as a positive, considering it opens doors for other investors, the study said this is not enough.
The presalt fields’s long distance from the coast and high CO2 content poses challenges. Brazil's government should consider stimulus for investments in logistics and gas treatment.
Increasing pipeline projects for offloading presalt natural gas is highly recommended. It is crucial to evaluate the viability of auctions for structuring thermals for specific natural gas plant project, according to the study.
“Without new regulatory specifications, the access for this kind of infrastructure is submitted to a great asymmetry based on market concentration. In this context, establishing a regulated access that allows dealings between Petrobras and other producers can contribute [to increasing] Brazil’s gas attractiveness,” Almeida said.
Gas Pipeline Demand
The construction of presalt gas pipeline is expensive due to the distance and the depth of the fields. Currently, only two presalt gas pipelines—Route 1 and Route 2 –are in operation with tan offloading capacity of 23 MMcm/d (8 Bcf/d).
The 359-km (223-mile) Route 1 pipeline, which has been in operation since 2011, has the capacity to offload another 10 MMcm (3.5 Bcf) of gas. Route 1 is divided in two parts: The Lula-Mexilhão Platform section and the section connecting the Mexilhão FPSO to the Monteiro Lobato Gas Treatment Unit in Caraguatatuba, São Paulo. The unit has a processing capacity of up to 10 MMcm/d in the Santos Basin presalt area.
The 401-km (249-mile) Route 2, where operations started in February 2016, has the capacity to flow 13 MMcm/d (4.6 Bcf/d) from the Santos region to the Cabiúnas Gas Treatment Terminal in Rio de Janeiro. Route 2 is the largest underwater gas pipeline in operation in Brazil.
Petrobras plans to build a third gas pipeline—Route 3—that will link to the Búzios Field.
The high CO2 level is another obstacle, posing technical and economic challenges. Conventional CO2 separation technology is difficult to use in reservoirs with a high gas-oil ratio (GOR) and high CO2 level. Libra’s presalt field, for example, has a CO2 content of about 45% in the produced gas.
Targeting Goals
Despite the challenges ahead, Brazil’s government believes the country will be able to meet its own gas needs by 2021 as presalt fields are developed.
“We are working on that,” Brazil’s Energy Minister Fernando Coelho Fllho said during a conference in Rio de Janeiro last April. “The Pão de Acúcar’s presalt field (located in Campos Basin) alone is predicted to produce 15 MMcm/d (5.3 Bcf/d). This output result accounts for 50% of our natural gas imports from Bolivia.
Brazil hopes to import less gas from Bolivia. The country is working on a new contract to that effect.
In July 2016, Brazil launched the Gas for Growth plan. The plan intends to devise strategies to improve the sector’s legal and regulatory framework. Since then, several meetings and discussions have been taken place with stakeholders to highlight priorities for investments in Brazil’s gas sector.
—Brunno Braga
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