Brazil’s state-owned energy firm Petrobras reported a 90 percent drop in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the third quarter compared to the year before.
Besides a dip in the volume of regasified LNG, Petrobras reported a 13.3 percent reduction in Bolivian gas imports in the July-September period.
In its report, the firm attributed the dip in LNG volumes and gas supplies from Bolivia to “the combined effect of lower volume of sales and higher gas supply in the period.”
Domestic gas deliveries increased by about 1 million cubic meters per day, due to the higher volume of pre-salt natural gas produced and processed in the third quarter, Petrobras said.
The firm also said sales of natural gas were 4 percent lower when compared to the prior quarter and reflect the lower demand in the thermoelectric and non-thermoelectric segments, due to lower steam demand and greater third parties market share, respectively.
According to Petrobras, regasifed LNG volumes reached only 1 million cubic meters per day in the the third quarter, compared to 5 million cubic meters per day in the same quarter last year.
Regasified LNG volumes were at 3 million cubic meters per day in the second quarter.
Overall, regasification volumes dropped by 85.7 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to the last year.
Petrobras previously reported a 74 percent drop in its LNG imports in 2022 when compared to the year before.
This compared to record LNG imports of 23 million cubic meters per day in 2021, which rose about 200 percent when compared to the previous year.
During 2021, Brazil turned to LNG to fuel its power plants due to a severe drought that considerably affected hydroelectric power in the country.
Petrobras started importing LNG to Brazil via the Pecem FSRU-based terminal in 2009.
The company recently signed a deal with US floating LNG player Excelerate Energy to charter the 2020-built FSRU Sequoia for ten years.
In addition, Petrobras sub-chartered the 138,250-cbm FSRU Energos Winter to US LNG firm New Fortress Energy and the latter will deploy the unit to Terminal Gas Sul (TGS), the company’s newest LNG import terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil.