Brazil

Brazilian national oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, aka Petrobras, managed to avoid expensive LNG imports during the first quarter amid historically high reservoir levels at the country’s hydroelectric dams. The majority state-owned firm sourced 63% of its gas supply from domestic production and 37% via pipeline imports from Bolivia during the first quarter. In 1Q2022,…

Argentina’s natural gas segment has been transformed by the Vaca Muerta shale formation and the country might well again become a net energy exporter. The country is undergoing a massive natural gas infrastructure buildout in an attempt to make that the case. Vaca Muerta is the second largest shale gas resource on the planet, with…

Europe’s energy crisis is likely to “influence the LNG supply and demand balance through the end of this decade and beyond,” according to Excelerate Energy Inc. CEO Steven Kobos.  But beyond import terminals in Europe, Excelerate also is maintaining long-term focus on the continued strength of its South American liquefied natural gas business. Three of…

Excelerate Energy Inc. is looking for more opportunities to grow its nascent LNG portfolio, but not only with U.S. projects, as it expands its role as a global natural gas supplier. CEO Steven Kobos said during a fourth quarter earnings call that the company, headquartered in The Woodlands near Houston, had pivoted its “near-term commercial…

Bolivian gas was once the beating heart of South America’s natural gas production, with powerhouse neighbors Argentina and Brazil relying on the landlocked country’s pipeline shipments to keep the lights on. But this is seen coming to an end. Bolivian gas production will decline more rapidly than expected, falling from 1.4 Bcf/d in 2022 to…

Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, the 77-year-old leftist icon and former president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010, secured a return to the country’s top job on Sunday, narrowly defeating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a bitterly contested presidential runoff election. The victory by da Silva, known to supporters and detractors alike simply as Lula, marks…

National oil companies (NOCs) in Latin America enjoyed record profits in the second quarter on the back of high oil and gas prices, but they remain under pressure from governments facing economic crises. The high oil and gas price environment “has come with a downside which is that in the domestic market, it is very…

Brazilian national oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) saw falling natural gas demand and the need for fewer LNG cargoes for the second consecutive quarter as rainfall continued to replenish the nation’s reservoirs. Natural gas demand dropped to 56 million cubic meters/day (MMm3/d) in the second quarter, compared to 83 MMm3/d in the same period…

Demand for LNG imports to Brazil via the Bahia regasification terminal grew in the second quarter despite surging global natural gas prices, according to the terminal’s operator, Excelerate Energy Corp. CEO Steven Kobos hosted a conference call Thursday to discuss Excelerate’s second-quarter results. The 700 MMcf/d capacity terminal in the city of Salvador began operations…