Pré-Sal Petróleo (PPSA) will carry out, on September 18th, a sales process spot for the commercialization of 1.5 million barrels of oil in three loads from the Atapu, Sépia and Itapu fields. From the Itapu field, the Union’s production will be commercialized for the first time.
The shipments will take place from the last two months of 2024. The information comes from the press office of PPSA, a company linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, created in November 2013, which operates in the management of production sharing contracts, management of the commercialization of oil and natural gas and the representation of the Union in unitization or individualization agreements.
The market spot of oil is short-term transactions, which considers the supply and demand of the product at the time of the purchase and sale negotiation for immediate delivery.
All companies already operating in the pre-salt layer will be invited to participate, in addition to PRio and the Mataripe Refinery. According to PPSA, this model has been adopted for the commercialization of cargoes spot. The prices offered will be based on the Brent market, which refers to crude oil extracted from the North Sea and traded on the London Stock Exchange.
This year, PPSA sold two cargoes of 500 thousand barrels of oil each for sale spotone from the Sépia field, loaded by the Chinese company Cnocc, and another from the Atapu field, loaded by the Mataripe Refinery. In addition, the company held, last July, the 4th Union Oil Auction on the Stock Exchange (B3), when 37.5 million barrels of Union oil were sold related to the production of the Mero and Búzios fields, scheduled for 2025.
PPSA also informed that, from now on, it will publish the winning price of the sales processes on its website. spot 15 days after loading.
Energy policy
Last Monday (26), a resolution by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) authorized PPSA to sell volumes of the Union’s natural gas, already processed, directly to the market. Currently, PPSA sells the Union’s natural gas at the exit of platform ships that are in production, restricting competitiveness.
With the authorization obtained, PPSA intends to soon sign a contract with Petrobras to join the Integrated Natural Gas Flow System (SIE) – composed of maritime and land flow pipelines that promote the interconnection of Routes 1, 2 and 3.
The interim president and technical director of PPSA, Tabita Loureiro, informed that this will allow the company to soon hold the 1st Union Natural Gas Auction, aiming to commercialize the Union’s production in 2025.
The executive analyzed that the CNPE resolution constitutes a milestone in the construction of a competitive natural gas market and completely changes the dynamics of the Union’s natural gas commercialization.
“We plan to commercialize our natural gas at the SIE outlet soon, if possible from January 2025. The next step will be to join the Integrated Processing System (SIP), so that the Union’s 2027 production can be processed at Petrobras-owned plants in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and sold directly to the market,” said Tabita.
Today, the Union has a share of around 150 thousand cubic meters per day of natural gas in six contracts. However, according to studies by the company, this volume will increase in the coming years to around 3 million cubic meters per day.
According to the director of Administration, Finance and Commercialization at PPSA, Samir Awad, the new dynamic will increase competition and, as a result, should bring greater gains for the Union.
Refining
The CNPE resolution also established that it is in the interest of the National Energy Policy that the PPSA, with technical support from the Energy Research Company (EPE) and under the coordination of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), carries out studies on the technical and economic feasibility for the execution of a long-term contract auction for the Union’s oil refining, in units in the national territory, aiming to expand the refining and petrochemical chain.
The document states that PPSA must demonstrate, in the study, the conditions necessary for the technical and economic viability of long-term contract auctions, in addition to suggesting the marketing conditions. The company has 180 days – starting August 26 – to submit the work to the CNPE.
