Demand for imported LNG in Brazil will rise to a natural gas equivalent of 33.1Mm3/d in 2012, according to pricing director at federal energy company Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) Jorge Roberto Abraháo Hijjar.
Demand for the fuel will hit a natural gas equivalent of 1.1Mm3/d by the end of the year, he said at the BNamericas-IBC Energy Integration Congress in Santiago, Chile.
Natural gas imports from Bolivia, meanwhile, are expected to remain flat at 30.1Mm3/d for the next five years.
Domestic production of natural gas in Brazil will rise to 70.8Mm3/d in 2012 from the current 32.5Mm3/d.
Both thermo generation and industrial use will account for growth in natural gas demand in Brazil expected to reach 134Mm3/d in 2012.
Natural gas used by thermo generators will rise from 15.7Mm3/d to 48Mm3/d in 2012. Natural gas use by industry, meanwhile, will rise to 42.1Mm3/d from the current 28.8Mm3/d.
FIRST PLANT DELAYED
Brazil's first LNG terminal is expected to start operations at the end of October or November. The terminal in Pecém port is capable of regasifying 7Mm3/d and earlier was due to start receiving shipments this month.
"It has all the approvals, it's just going through conditioning," Hijjar told BNamericas about the terminal after his presentation.
Petrobras already has bought several LNG cargos, although Hijjar could not comment on pricing.
Petrobras has yet to make a decision on whether to build a third LNG terminal. The firm is advancing construction on a second LNG terminal in Rio de Janeiro state.
