Petrobras has initiated procedures to give access to other natural gas producers in Brazil to its input processing units. According to the model being implemented, the company will start to act as a processor of natural gas supplied by other agents. With the measure, Petrobras reaffirms its commitment to contribute to the development of an open, competitive and sustainable gas market in the country.

Petrobras is informing potential stakeholders about its gas processing units, the business model to be adopted and the offer and contracting procedures. The natural gas processing capacity will be offered in two stages: offering capacity to agents who have rights over the production of natural gas from fields in production, in order to guarantee the continuity of the country's oil and gas production (1st stage , already in progress); and offering the available processing capacity (after negotiations of the 1st stage) to the other interested agents (2nd stage, which will be held annually).

Petrobras currently buys volumes of natural gas from other producers, onshore and offshore, in Brazil, processes at its units, contracts for transportation through pipelines and resells the gas to state natural gas distributors. When the new model is implemented, natural gas producers will not necessarily need to sell the gas to Petrobras. Producers will be able to contract part of Petrobras' processing capacity and will continue to own the gas produced and all its derivatives, enabling them to directly negotiate their products with the market.

Gas processing plants 

The natural gas processing units are industrial plants in which the hydrocarbon fractions in the gas are separated, giving rise to several products, including natural gas, within the specifications for consumption.

Click here and access the Petrobras website with more information about natural gas processing plants and capacity contracting.