Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), Brazil's state oil company, plans to build 10 natural gas-fired cogeneration power plants at its refineries in Brazil at an average cost of about $200 million each.
Petrobras Pres. Joel Mendes Renno said the project is intended to cut the state company's electric bill, which currently runs about $750 million/year.
The first such cogeneration plant will be at Petrobras' Duque de Caxias (Reduc) refinery in Rio de Janeiro state. The others are slated for Petrobras refineries in Bahia, Parana, Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Minas Gerais states.
The total capital spending program has not been determined yet, because that will hinge on the specific generating capacity of each power plant.
Petrobras will retain a minority stake in each power plant, which on average will have capacity of about 400 MW. All the power plants will be fueled by natural gas supplied by Petrobras. The private partners will be majority share holders and will be able to sell surplus electric power and thermal energy not consumed by Petrobras.
Soon, Petrobras will issue a tender for contractors to build the plants.
Foreign companies that have already expressed interest in becoming partners with Petrobras in developing thermoelectric projects include Germany's Siemens AG, Portugal's EDP, and Foster Wheeler Power Systems Inc., Clinton, N.J.
All companies participating in power projects with Petrobras will be required to form joint ventures with Brazilian companies to build the plants.
"The attractiveness of this project is that it is a win-win situation, because the energy will be produced at a lower cost, Petrobras saves on its electricity bill, and the private partners can sell energy at a lower cost," Renno said.
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