(Bloomberg) — Petrobras plans to limit the reinjection of natural gas where possible in response to government efforts to increase supplies of the fuel, the state oil company’s chief executive said Wednesday.
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A decree published Tuesday allows Brazil’s oil regulator, known as the ANP, to set the amount of natural gas that oil producers reinject into reservoirs. More than 90% of Brazil’s oil and gas production occurs in offshore fields, where the pipeline infrastructure to transport the gas to shore can cost billions of dollars.
Chief Executive Officer Magda Chambriard said some of Petrobras’ platforms are not designed to handle gas deliveries, limiting how much Petrobras can restrict its reinjection into reservoirs. The Rio de Janeiro-based company will have to make a “course correction” and is exploring the possibility of using upcoming platforms at the giant Buzios offshore field to create a gas hub, she told reporters in Brasilia.
“We cannot have oil projects with associated gas at sea if we do not address the ability to transport gas to shore,” Chambriard said.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s push for more and cheaper natural gas has raised concerns that Brazil is turning to interventionist policies in a move that could discourage investment by major oil companies. Nevertheless, the head of Petrobras said the company will do everything it can to improve the supply of natural gas at affordable prices to revive industrial activity.
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