Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Geraldo Alckmin said on Friday that Brazil could conclude a deal with Argentina to buy gas from the neighboring country at a lower price, adding that the Petrobras gas is expensive.
According to Alckmin, the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline could be extended to Argentina to increase gas supply in the coming years. Negotiations are ongoing and are led by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, he added.
“We can use the same pipeline in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil” to increase gas supply in the country, Alckmin said during a Senac event in Rio de Janeiro.
“Of course, Bolivia wants us to pay a ‘plus’ for this… but we will have a great opportunity on the natural gas issue,” he added.
The statement comes a day after Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said in an interview with Reuters that Brazil was evaluating options to import natural gas from Argentina’s huge Vaca Muerta formation in a bid to alleviate his input deficit.
“We bring the gas from Bolivia and now there will be Vaca Muerta, which is important. You can come from Uruguaiana, in Rio Grande do Sul, or use the same Gasbol; there are the two alternatives and whoever leads it is the minister of Mining and energy, but gas is key,” Alckmin said.
In addition to imports, Alckmin’s forecast is that in the next six to seven years, with the entry into operation of the so-called Route 3, in Rio de Janeiro, which will transport pre-salted gas, and the entry into operation of new fields of gas, Brazil can double its supply of inputs.
Alckmin stressed that gas will be essential for Brazil to decarbonize the national economy and achieve a good energy transition. He stressed that in addition to the low gas supply, Brazil also faces the problem of high prices of inputs.
Alckmin stressed that the government has ongoing talks with Petrobras on the cost of gas in the country and how to make it cheaper.
“We can reach an understanding with Argentina. Our gas is not cheap and it is a fight we fight with Petrobras 24 hours a day. It is reducing, but slowly,” the vice president said.
“It’s one thing to go up to 300 kilometers from the coast and more than 5 thousand meters deep in the pre-salt area (Petrobras case) and another thing is fracking, as happens in the United States… Vaca Muerta in Argentina too, and It’s obviously cheaper.”
Source: Terra
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