The agreement between Petrobras, Companhia de Distribuição de Gás do Rio (Naturgy/CEG), the state government and the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj) for the suspension, for 30 days, of all actions and appeals related to readjustments the amount charged by the state-owned company for the supply of natural gas that is still in process was approved by the judge Regina Lúcia Passos, of the 24th Civil Chamber of the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ). It was agreed that during this period, CEG will pay for natural gas the rate of 12% on the price of Brent oil, used as an index for contracts for the product in the country.
According to the TJRJ, Petrobras announced, at the end of last year, a 50% increase in the price of natural gas for new contracts with state distributors for the year 2022. In Rio de Janeiro, at the end of December, two actions – one by the state gas distribution company, Naturgy-CEG, and another by the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro – obtained an injunction suspending the readjustment”, he informed.
During the hearing, the judge proposed the payment of the 12.6% rate by the end of 2022, which was accepted by the CEG. However, Petrobras representatives argued that any decision could only be announced after the suggestion was submitted to the company’s corporate governance.
State attorney Antônio Joaquim Pires e Albuquerque and Alerj attorney general, Sérgio Pimentel, expressed concern at the special hearing regarding a possible gas shortage in the state if the agreement between CEG and Petrobras is not reached.
The distributor, on the other hand, presented a proposal for the payment of the percentage of 12% for a period of two years, until the end of 2023, with the guaranteed continuity of the supply of natural gas by Petrobras and the suspension of the actions in progress. “The state-owned company expressed that it could not accept the offer in a hearing, before the governance position”, informed the TJRJ.
