By an OGJ Online Correspondent
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 8 -- Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto, a Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) subsidiary, has granted BG Group PLC access to the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline after a 5-month delay.
In April the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) ordered Petrobras to open access to the line (OGJ Online, Apr. 17, 2001). It complied only after ANP Executive Director David Zylbersztajn complained to Petrobras Pres. Henri Philippe Reichstul.
Petrobras recently signed a contract allowing BG to transport 2.1 million cu m/day (MMcmd). Capacity of the line is 30 MMcmd but utilization is only 12 MMcmd.
TBG claims it will use the full capacity next year when new electric power plants come on stream. BG claims Petrobras will be transporting only 24 MMcmd by 2003.
The Brazilian government wants to increase the natural gas portion of the energy mix to 12% by 2005, up from 3% now. The government estimates that within 4 years, consumption should reach 90 MMcmd.
Also, a constitutional amendment in Congress would open the market for imported products in January. Currently, Petrobras has a monopoly on imports and owns most of the pipeline infrastructure and port terminals.